Skip to main content

Full text of "The Jesuits in Great Britain; an historical inquiry into their political influence"

See other formats 


Go ogle 



This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 
to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 
publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 

We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 



at http : / /books . google . com/ 



THE JESUITS IN GREAT BRITAIN 



THE 

JESUITS IN GREAT BRITAIN 

AN fflSTORICAL INQUIRY INTO THEIR 
POLITICAL INFLUENCE 



BY 



WALTER WALSH, P. E. Hist. S. 

Jmtior of Tit Stent Hittorf oftU.Oxford MovtmeHt,' ' Tit Eittorf eftk* 

Momeward Mottrntul m Ot Oimrek of EnfUmd," " A Dtftnet of Ike ISmjf* 

PnUOiKt JManttom," " Tit IMfioai lift of Qwm rietcria," tie. 




lOItDOR 

GEORGE ROTJTLEDGE & SONS, Ltd. 

Niw Yobk: £. F. DuTTOH & Co. 

1903 







'^f'^^^C^tl '^^'-^ 



PfitU$d at Hu Motky Ptm, iS. Bldon St, E.C. 



PREFACE 

Thb Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century was 
the wonder of the world. Its rapid growth, notwithstanding 
the efforts of the Papacy to uproot it, served to convince 
its disciples that there was a power behind it which was 
not of this world. Popes cursed it, and Kings drew the 
sword against its followers; but all in vain. Countless 
multitudes of martyrs were sent to the stake, yet still Protes- 
tantism would not die. It grew more powerful every year. 
With earthquake force it shook the Vatican, and threatened 
ere long to sweep the Papacy from off the face of the 
earth. It seemed at one time, as though nothing could 
resist its progress. It will soon be four hundred years since 
Martin Luther raised the standard of revolt against Papal 
tyranny, but Protestantism is not dead yet; on the contrary 
it is a great and living power in the world, able to hold 
its own against every machination of Rome. Yet it must 
be adm^itted that in the latter half of the sixteenth century 
the Protestant Reformation received a severe check through 
the exertions of the Society of Jesus. 

The operations of this Order in Great Britain during the 
sixteenth and seventecsith centuries are referred to by most 
of our historians, but at quite an inadequate length, and 
without utilising in any way the wealth of material which 
has seen the light for the first time during the past half 
century. And even those Protestant authors who have 
written specially on the Jesuit Order seem to have been 



TT 



rSEFACK 



quite unawAre of its existence, I have made extensive use 
of this new material in the following pages, in which will 
be found a considerable amount of historical information 
not generally known to the public. In one respect this 
book will certatnlj differ from every other book on the 
Jesuits w ritfcen b j a Pro testant , inasni uc h as the great 
majority of my authorities are either Jesuits or ordinary 
Homan Catholics. The Protestant indictment against the 
Order is all the stronger when built upon such autharitie±>. 

I have conHiaed myself to an examination of the polUical 
inflnence of the Jesuits in Great Britain, excepting in the last 
two chapters, in which the Constitutions and the general 
work of the Society and of its agenU and instruments are con- 
sidered. I venture to suggest that in these last chapters will 
be found some important information which throws light on its 
preaent operations. The work carried on by the Jesuits through 
its Sodalities baa never, so far as J am aware, been adequately 
described by any Protestsuit writer. There are Jesuit Sodali- 
ties for both sexes, and for every class of society- At the 
chief Jesuit Church in London (at Farm Street, W.) the lowest 
rank of Society admitted to its " Sodality of the Immaculate 
Conception " is that of gentleman. Each memlM^r is admitted 
by authority of the General of the Jesuitsj and is under the 
guidance of a Jesuit Director. There are Sodalities also tor 
ladies. In the section devoted to these Sodalities I q^uote 
from their privately printed books. 

The evidence produced in the following pages can leave no 
doubt in a candid reader^s mind that during the si^tteenth and 
seventeenth centuries the Jesuits were a thoroughly dLdoyal body 
of men, and the ringleaders in sedition and rebellion. They 
wanted to restore Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom, 



I 






FBXFiCX Til 

and for this purpose their chief reliance was on the sword. 
If thej could hare had their waj Protestantism would have 
been exterminated, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, not bj 
fair controveisial methods, but bj crooked dealing, and, 
aboTe all, bj foreign soldiers. The chief disturbers of the 
State in Elixabeth^s reign, and in the earlj years of James L, 
and the instigators of the abominable Gunpowder Plot, were 
the spiritual children of the Jesuits. From the ranks of 
one of their Sodalities, as Mr. Simpson, the Roman Catholic 
biographer of Father Campian, assures us, came most of 
the men implicated in the plots to assassinate Elizabeth. 
No class of men were more alive to the dangerous and dis- 
loyal character of the Society of Jesus than the secular 
Boman Catholic priests. Boman Catholics, in almost every 
country, have said stronger things against the Society than 
auything which Protestants have uttered. 

There are many sensational events recorded in these pages, 
but I trust that nothing will be discovered in the way of 
intemperate comment. The facts against the Jesuits are so 
strong that they do not need the aid of abuse. 

The work of the Jesuits in Great Britain during the 
Commonwealth period, and subsequently to the accession of 
James II. is not recorded in this volume. Happily the 
omission may be largely filled in by a perusal of Father 
Taunton's recent History of the Jesuits in Etigland, This 
gentleman, though a Roman Catholic priest, exposes the 
history of the Order with an unsparing hand. It is all the 
more Taluable as coming from such a source. I have used 
his book but sparingly, and with due acknowledgment in 
each case. Had it appeared at an earlier date it would 
hare saved me much original research; but nearly all my 



Till 



P&KFACK 



facts had been collected aever&l jeara before it« publication. 
Mr. Taunton deserves our warmest thanks for the coura^xe 
h« has displayed in telling the truth about an Order which 
bos evex been the fruitful [larent of lavtl and political 
diacords. 

Want of space has alw prerented me dealing with the 
historj of Jesuit opemtiotis in Ireland, where their services 
on the aide of dialoyaltj and rebellion hare been conspicuous. 

The BritUh Empire, at home and in its Colonies and 
Dependencies, is the chief centre of Je^iuit operations at the 
present moLnent. Ita leaders know very well that to destroy 
the power of Protestantism in the dominions of King 
Edward VII. would be the greatest service thej could render 
to the Church of Rome. The work of the French Jesuits 
in connection with the Drevfu^ C&se, and the abuse uf 
Kngland by Jesuit papers ajid magazines on the Continent^ 
in connection with the recent South African War, have given 
the Order a bad name once more amongst British Trot^s- 
tants. Expelled from France they are docking to Kngland, 
but not for BDgUnd*s good. Every lover of Protestantism 
aliould realise more clearly than ever that the Jesuit Order 

the great foe of our civil and religious liberty. 

I c&nnot conclude this preface without acknowledging the 
kind encouragement and assistance rendered to me by Colonel 
T. Myles Sandyi^, M.P., without which 1 should probably 
have never imdei'taken the task ol writing this book. 



W. W. 



Lmtdon, April 1903. 



CONTENTS 



CBAPTEB L TBI COKXENCniZItT OF THS JKSUIT WSSIOIf 



F4aB 

. 1 



Early XmU of Jeeuiu to England— Jesuit DidgaiBefl~FAih«r 
Thomibd Woodboasef 8J.— Fu-^b £xecutioa ofuJesoit — 
Toleration and Treaaon — Jesuita Executed for Treastio — 
Qi]e«doti8 put Lo PriAOQerti aa to th^ir Loyalty — Testimony 
of Oardiflat Ailen— Martyr* to Iho Depoeing Ponrer — Father 
Watson on Tniitoroua J^uits — Jeeuitd rely on tha Ar^an 
of Spain — Jesuita oppoa^ to Toieration for Eomaa 
Oatbcnics — Heraarkable Interview with the Pope — A Great 
Pafiai League— 'The Jesuit Misaion (Starts for England^ 
Anivat of Paiaona and Cam pian— Their DorQ^orous Dta- 
peTLsiD^ Pow^ere — Jeauita at bouthwark Synod — Father 
f^araorm' Perjury — Parsons on Lyin^r and Perjury — The 
Oonfesaioaal used for Political purposes— Sowing the seeds 
of the Gunpowder Plot— A Secret Jeauit Organisation — 
Its ABaaaaination Pronxxtin^ MemberB — Campiau^a Inter- 
▼iew with Queen Elisabeth — His Arrest^ Trial, and Eio- 
cution^ — The Use of Torture in Kng\&nd—Brisiow*sMoUve» 
' — lie Traitorous Ctianicter^-Treaaon in tha Seminary 
Col) egefl— Cardinal D'Osi^t'a Testimony. 



CB[APT£R II. — a OBBXT JESUIT flot in scotlard , . . 30 

£am^ Stuart^ Lord Anblgny — Educated by the Jesaits-^ 

Slortd for Scotland— Created Earl of Lennox — Joins th« 
Protestant Kirk of Scotland — Komaniata Digguislnjr their 
Helij^on — ^The Protestant Ministers become Alarmed^ 
Archbishop Spottiswoode on DispensationB from Rome 
^-^ueen Elisabeth sends a warninK to James Yl.— Lennox 
Bwean» to the Solemn League and Covenant — Lord 8oton 
A DistpilAed Romanist — Jee^uiets eay Ma^s in hhi Hoiifie 
— Seton a wears to the Solemn League and Covenant — 
Tr^aaon of Roman Catholic Lordfi^^Mendosa ofifera 
Lennox the help of the Fope to destroy Scottish PK»test- 
frntiam^PardoxiB eendn Secret Emisaanea to Lennox — 
Their instructions — Reports of the EmisearieB — Mary, 
Queen of Scot^ joins the Jesuit Plot — The Pope sends 
a Jesuit Emissary to Scotltmd— The Jesuit Oreighton'a 
Beport of his Intrigues in Scotland— -Secret ConTerexhce 
in Paris^Lennox proniiflo* to aid in re&toring Popery 
Ib Bootland— Articles of agreement aent to the Pope — 



COStEKTS 



LeTio*nt*$ Letters to Tassia, and M«jy Queen of Scots — 
Another Jeaiitt Conference in Paris— Report af Jeaait 
Emi8flRrie8^Ij«nno3c corrupte the Momls of the King 
of Scotland — Tbe Kinji'a Royal Declaration in DefeT>c© 
of Leiinoi'a Frote^Jtautiam^The Raid of Kothven — 
Supplication to the King from Protestant Koblemen — 
Lennoxes deceitrul conduct— He boaeta of his Proles- 
tftnti^ni— Takes Counsel with the Roman iBtd—I#eaTe9 
Scotland— His interview with Queen Elisabeth — Telia 
her be bad never spoken to a Jeaiiit- Senda hjs Secre^ 
tayy to Mendoza to asaurft him he ia really a Roni&a 
Caiholic— Dies ai Paris in commnnioa with tbe Church 
of Rome — Ireaaoua from hie life. 



PkQE 



CHAPTER III.— A» AaSASgiHATIOH PJ-OT — A JWCIT LOiU) 

dU^CBLLOB OP SCOTLAND . , 61 

The Jesuit Parsona— More about hia Traitorous Wort — 
Ptoi to AsAAasinale Qu^n Elixabeth — ParsOD:^' approval 
of the Plot--Hi9 remarkable Letter— Father Tiernej'a 
opinion of that Letter — ^Letter of the Papal Nuncio to 
the Papal Secretary of State deacribing the Plot^^Reply 
of the Pope'a ^Secretary — The Pope and Assassination 
— The Proposed Asaaaainatioji approved by Phihp II. — 
A Modem Brompton Oratorian VVhitewashinK Aasaasi* 
nation — Jeauit Conference in Paris — Another Conapiracy 
— Parsons sent on a Mia^ioc to the Pope — Plans of the 
Conapiratora — An Emissary sent to En^cliah Roman 
Cathoiica^-Remarkable Application to t}ie Pope — Dia^ 

Jensations aaked for to attend Protestant Services — 
ames VI. and the Duke of Gtiiae— Hia unprincipled 
Letter to the Duke- James writes to the Pope— Lord 
Seton'a Deceitful Conduct— His Letter to the Pope — 
The Jesuit Alexander Seton— Educated in the Jeauita' 
College at Rome — Keturna to Scotland where he says 
Mass — Acknowled^i^ by Modern Jesuits as & Member 
of their Order— Pnblicfy profeaaea Protestantism and 
Bwears to the Solemn League and Covenant— The King 
warned against him — A Diagnlsed Romanist for nearly 
forty years- Bew^raea Earl of Dunfermline and Lord 
Chancellor of Scotland — Marries Three times— Three 
timed a year goea eocretly to Confession and to Masa 
— All tbe time a CommuDicant in the Scotch Kirk — 
Teatimony of Father James Seton, 8 J. — Die* ft Bomanistr 
but is buried -as a Pro(eatant. 



CHAPTER ly* JESUIT PHKPATiATTOS'3 FOE TEE SFAKISH ARMAOA 87 

The Jesuits and Mnrder Plots— Roman Catholic Testis 
mony — Rome and Murder Plots— Bemarkable Stnteraeat 
by LK>rd Acton— Tbe Assassination FlotofSomervilia and 



COKTINTS XI 

PAGE 

Arden— English Jesuits pronounce Arden a*' Confessor 
of the Faith"— Strange Confessors of the Faith— Exe- 
cution of William Carter— Extracts from a Popish book 
he printed— Jadith and Holofemes — Cardinal Allen's 
Modegt Defence of English Catholics — Development of 
the Jesuit Plot — Throgmorton's Assassination Plot — Flans 
for Invading England— Double-Dealing of Mary Queen of 
Scots— Capture of the Jesuit Creightou— His remarkable 
Confessions — An Act against the Jesuits — The Duke of 
Farma appointed Leader of the Enterprise against 
England — His character-- Parsons writes the Admonition 
to the People of £%2afui— Extracts from it— The Pope's 
Admiration of Queen Elisabeth — Papal Claims to the 
Sovereignty of ^gland — The Babington Assasnination 
Conspiracy — The Conspirators were the Spiritual Children 
of the Jesuits— Guilt of the Priest Ballard — Mary Queen 
of Soots and the Conspiracy— Assassination " by Poison 
or hv Steel"— Piety, Blood, and Murder— "The Choice 
of England" — Thomas Morgan — The Pope gets him 
out of Prison* 

CHAPTER Y. — THE SPIHISH AXIUDA — TBIAflORABLK JESUIT 

BO0X8 127 

Bobert Brace's Mission to Spain— Proposal to Massacre 
the Presbyterian Ministers — Preparing for the Armada 
— The Secret Wire Pullers— Spanish Negotiations with 
the Pope — Papal help for the Spanish iUmada— Philip 
II. and the i^glish Succesaiou — Parsons on the Claim 
of Philip to the English Throne— Execution of Mary 
Queen of Scots — The Pope's Haughty Letter to Philip 
II. — An Address to the men of the Spanish Armada — 
Text of the Deposing Bull of Bixtus V. — A Miserly Pope 
— More Jesuit Plots in Scotland — They organise Traitor- 
ous Conspiracies — Dissimulation of the Popish Lords 
— Plot to Murder Chancellor Maitland — Encouraged by 
Jesuits— The Pope Authorises it— The Jesuits and the 
Seminary Colleges — Scarce Jesuit Books— The Writings 
of Parsons— Extracts from them — Parsons on Heretical 
Rulers — The Jesuits' Plan for the Reformation of 
England— Its Outrageous Proposals approved by Modem 
Jesuits- The Jesuits' English Utopia—Jesuit Teaching 
on Equivocation and Mental Reservation. 

CHAPTER VI. — KOBB 1S8AS8INATI05 C0N8PIBACIES — THE 

GUNPOWDEE PLOT AND THE JESUITS 167 

1'he Attempt of Patrick CoUen— Evidence against the 
Jesuits— The Plots of York, WilliamSj and Squire- 
Thomas Fitzherbert, 8.J.— Charges against the Jesuits 
Holt and Walpole— The Spanish Blanks— Another 



Ill 



coKTBrn 



Pcottiah Plot— Rebellion of Scottish Rotnaji Ci-thoHc 
Xoblemen— 'Tbe Second ypanish Armada — Advice of 
the JesiiiU to the Kin^ of Spain — Jestiit Praclicee for 
Killinj^ Princes)- The (junpowd^r Treason — The PJoiten* 
the ^piriinul Children oi (he Jeenit-G— The KeligioUA 
Character and Pi^ty of the Cotjepiratore^Gtjy F^wkes 
'a man of gr^dt Piety"— Father Thomas Stran}?**, SJ., 
iiCL Kinpr KilUtip— RemarkjiUe Evidetit-e of Thomiw 
JJKtes— The Jeautt Teaimond atid thfe Plot— Father Old- 
coruj 8J,» and the Plot— The CaAe of Father GttrneU — 
His Confession of Guilt and Plea for Pardon — The 
Confei^bionttl and the Plot— Gftrnett's Kuowletlge outride 
(he CoDte»9iouiLl— He Confe&ees the Jmtice of hia S#n- 
leace — Wft^ He « Mjutyr? 



p&os 



CHAPTER VU 



— k qOBSN A» A DISaCISED EOKIFIST 



204 



Anne of DeniuarV — Educated hs a Lutheran— Marriee 
jAmes VI. of StotUiid^— Her Kw^ret Heception into the 
Church nf Rome by « Jesuit — Father A beircrombie'a Nar- 
rative — The King: discover* the Secret— Appoint* the 
i^aeen*B Jesuit Confessor a^ Keeper of the Boya) 
Hawkfi-- Narrative of Father ilac tjuhirrie, SJ.--The 
Qu^a ** without doubt a Koni&hiBt*'— Her Political Iii^ 
flueoce — Strives to pervert her children to Popery*-* Her 
BQcret Correspondence with the Pope- The Queen at 
MaaB—Attetidfl Proteatant Services and Sertnone— Her 
Deception on her Dyiug Bed^Diea in CommuDiaii witb 
the Church of Rome, 



CHAPTER Vin — THE 8ECB£T HISTORY Or THARliES II. . , 218 

Chtwlee IL— Hit^ Roman Catholic Motiier- Her jjreAt In- 
flaence — Charles seeks Help from the Pope and Spain 
— Secret Negotiations at Rome.^ — His Propositionfi bo the 
Pope^Ne^joiiatioiiB with the Sootch Preubyt-erians — He 
sweara to the Solemn I-^ague and Covenant— Charlee 
studies Koniish Booka of Controversy- Escapes to the 
Continent. — Secret Negotiations with Spain^ — When did 
Charles join the Church of Home ? — Teaiimony of Bi^^bop 
Eumet— The Je&nit Talbot invites Charles "to become 
eecretly a Roman Catholic— Talbot's Disgraceful Letter— 
*** Charles is secretly received into the Church of Kome— 
Dr. Renehan'H Narrfttire of hiA Beceptton — Carte's ac- 
count of bl3 Secession to Popery— Lord H&lifai'a Com- 
mentit on that Secession— Secret Treaty with Spain- 
Charles prolesses hiH Love for the Protestant Heli|;ion»- 
French Froteetatit Paetoro aSirm their Faith m bis 
Protealantiam — Charles' Hypocritical Piety— His Prote^i- 
taot Letter to the Convention Parlia^ment — is secretly 
married to a Roman Catholic — She is welcomed U) 
England by the Jesuits— The King sends another em is- 



COHTmS XIU 

PAGK 

swy to the Poi>e— His List of Senricef to the Pftmcj— 
Secret Negotiations for the Submission of the United 
Kingdom to the Pope — Seeks to Relax the Penal Laws 
— His l>eclaration of Indalgence— Is " Highly Offended " 
at the preeenoe of Jesuits in the Connay — Crypto- 
Papists m Court — Premunire to call the King a Papist 
— Extraordinary Attack on the £arl of dareodon. 

CHAPT£IB IX.— CHABLE8 II. ASD THB JUUITS .... 251 

Secret Correspondence of Charles II with the General of 
the Jesuits — Text of the Correspondence — An ImpM>rtant 
Secret Conference — Secret Interriews with the French 
Ambassador— Charles' Anxiety to restore the Pope's 
authority — Negotiations with Louis XIV. — The Secret 
Treaty of Dover— Lord John Buseell on the Treaty — 
Charles Becomes a Pensioner of the King of France — 
A Popish Army at Blackheath~The TitOB Gates Popish 
Plot — infamous Character of Titus Gates — Coleman's 
Beal Jesuit Plot— Death of Charles IL 

CHAPTER X.^THB roBiUTiov or ths jvuit oboeb . . 278 

The Birth and £arly Life of Ignatius Loyola — Contrast 
Between Afartin Luther and Loyola — Ignatius on his 
Travels— Scandals in a Barcelona Convent — Ignatius 
in the Prisons of the Inquisition — Decides to Found a 
New fieligions Grder — His first Companions — Ignatius 
and the Paris Protestants — The Spiritwil Exerci$e» and 
Money Making — Nine Young Jesuits at Home — The 
Jesuit Grder Established. 

CHAPTER XI — THB COBSTITUTI0H8 OF THB JBSUITS THBIE 

SBCBET AOBNTS 293 

Loyola Appointed First General of the Jesuits— He 
Compiles the Cofutituiumt of the Grder — Rules of the 
Jesuits — Vows of the Jesuits — Blind Gbedience of the 
Jesuits— Blind Gbedience, Crime, and Folly— The Pro- 
lessed Fathers — Jesuit Spies — Secrecy of the Jesuits — 
The Jesuits and Political Affairs — Jesuits and their 
Property— The Grder Befiponsible for what its Members 
Write — Double Dealing — A Dispensation to Leave the 
Jesuits — Crypto-Jesuits — The Duke of Gandia — Secret 
Jesuits — The " Prima Primaria "— Jesuit Sodalities — How 
Used by the Jesuits — The Children of Mary — Female 
Jesuits — The Institute of the Blessed Virg'in Mary- 
Jesuitism in English Convents — Literary Servants of the 
Jesuit Order— Jesuit Donn^ — The Jesuit Holy League 
—Its 25,000,000 members.— Conclusion. 



THE JESUITS nr GREAT BBITADr 



CHAPTER I 

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE JESUIT MISSION 

loiUTius LoTOLA, the Founder of the Society of Jesus, from 
an early period in his career, down to the time of his death, 
took a special interest in English affairs. About ten years 
before his Order received the Pontifical blessing, in 1530, 
Loyola paid a visit to London, for the purpose of collecting 
alms &om the numerous Spaniards who at that time resided 
in the English metropolis. His visit appears to have been 
a brief one, and very little is known about it. Bishop 
Bnmet states that the Jesuits requested Cardinal Pole, in 
the reign of Mary, to invite them to England, on the ground 
that the old monastic orders were of no use, especially the 
Benedictines. They had the audacity to suggest to the 
Cardinal that the Homes of the English Benedictines should 
be handed over to the newly founded Society of Jesus. But 
Cardinal Pole seems to have had no love for the Jesuits, 
whose request he refused. '* The Jesuits,'* says Bishop 
Burnet, ^^were out of measure offended with him for not 
entertaining their proposition ; which I gather from an Italian 
manuscript, which my most worthy friend Mr. Crawford 
found in Venice, when he was Chaplain there to Sir Thomas 
Higgins, His Majesty's envoy to that Republic; but how it 
came that this motion was laid aside, I am not able to 
judge."' The first Jesuit sent on a temporary mission to 
England was the well-known Father Ribadeneira, who 
arrived a few days before the death of Queen Mary, which 

> BuBct'a Mittory of th4 Keformmii<m, vol, U., pp. 626. 626. Oxford, 1865. 

1 



TEE JSfiUna IH O&EiT BBITIIA 



occatred on the 17th of Norember, 1558* He remained ia 
England for a few months onlj, daring which he appeara 
io have been deeply pamed by the changes in religion 
alre.idy inaugui^ated bj Queen Elizabeth. He poured forth 
his gnef into the ear of the Father General of the Jesuits^ 
in a letter dated January 20, 1559. "The heretics/^ he 
wrote, *' are very elated^ and the Catholics are rery dia- 
CQQBolate/^^ Ribadeueira little thought what an important 
part his Order wotild talce in combating the ** heretics,'^ 
whose rejoicmg he witnessed. It was not, however, until 
about the year 1564 that the Oret Jesuit was formally seat 
to England as a Miasiou priast. His name was Itoger Bolbet. 
At about the same time a second priest, Father Thomas 
King, arrived as a Missioner, It is recorded of the latter, 
by a recent Jesuit writer, that while moving about the 
country carrying on his allotted work, **hi3 diBguiae, for he 
was well dressed, rather shocked hia converts at first," ' 
The Jesuits residing in England during Elizabeth^s reign 
may be said to have travelled about in perpetual di^uise* 
One cannot be surprieod at this, though there can be no 
doubt that at times they went too far. It waa the only 
way in which they could escape arrest. The disguise of the 
famous Jesuit Robert Parsons, when he arrived at Dover, 
June 12th, 1580, was such as to both amuse and astonish 
his companion, Edmund Campian, who thus describes hia attire 
in a letter to the General of the Jesuits, dated June 20th, 
1580: — '*He (Parsons) was dr4?ssed up like a soldier, — such 
a peacock, such a swaggerer, that a man must have a very 
sharp eye to catch a glimpse of any holiness and modesty 
shrouded beneath such a garb, such a look, such a strut! "* 
In the 17th century the Jesuits were exceedingly clever in 
inventing eil'ectual disguises. The late Rev. Dr. Oliver, who, 
though not nominally a Jesuit, was really in the service of the 

i The Monti, S«pt«iiiW 18»], p. -11. 

* md., p. IS, 

* Simfi^oii, Edmimd Cempitmt p. 124. 



< 



riTBB TBOMAfl WOODHOUBB, 8.J. 3 

Order* * informs os that Father Stephen Gelosse, an hidi 
Jesuit who flourished during the Commonwealth, "adopted 
ererj kind of disguise ; he assumed every shape and character ; 
he personated a dealer of fagots, a serrant, a thatcher, a 
porter, a beggar, a gardener, a miller, a carpenter, a tailor 
with his sleeve stuck with needles, a milkman, a pedlar, a 
seller of rabbit-skins etc/" 

There is no evidence to prove that either Bolbet or King 
interfered with political questions during their short mission 
in England, which seems to have lasted only a few months. 
Sixteen years more had to pass by before the Jesuits set 
seriously to work to overturn the Protestant Beformati<m 
in England. But, meanwhile, their Order had the privilege 
of boasting that one of its members was the first priest who 
was executed in England during Elizabeth's reign. Father 
Thomas Woodhouse, the priest referred to, was on May 14, 
1561, committed to the Fleet Prison, London, and remained 
in custody until his execution on June 19, 1573. His 
imprisonment was not altogether of a severe character. He 
was allowed many privileges which prisoners in the twentieth 
century never possess. A sympathiser, writing the year 
after his death, informs us that ^* his keeper allowed him to 
make secret excursions to his friends by day, and gave him 
the freedom of the prison." * He was allowed to say Mass 
daily in his cell, and for a long time no hindrance was 
placed in the way of his efforts to proselytise his fellow- 
prisoners of the Protestant faith. There can be no doubt 
that Father Woodhouse was a man who possessed the 
courage of his opinions and was never afraid to avow his 
convictions. But the Bull of Pope Pius V. of February 25, 
1570, deposing Elizabeth from her throne, and forbidding 

> Foley, Metordi of SM^litk Province, S^,, toL vii., p. 559. 
< (Hirer, CotiecUom toward* the BicgrapA^ of ike SooteK ^h^iith^ mU Iriih 
iUmiert SJ^ £d. 1838, p. 2S0. 

» Fokr, Mecorde, SJ'., ToL Tii., p. 1267. 



THK JSBUITS IH OUAT ERITAIH 



her subjects to obey her, turned him lato a traitor. On 
NoTemher 19, 1572, he addressed a letter to Lord Burghley, 
urging him to acknowledge his "great iniquitj and offence 
against Almighty God, especially in disobeying that supreme 
authority and power of the See Apostolic;*^ and exhorting 
him to " earnestly persuade the Lady Elizabeth (who for her 
own great disobedience is most justly deposed) to submit 
herself imto her spiritual Prince and Father, the Pope's 
Holiness, and with all humility, to reconcile herself unto 
him, that she may be the child of saltation. ^* ' 

It was not likely that Lord Burghley would leave an 
impudent and disloyal letter like this unnoticed. It will be 
obserred that Woodhouse refers to the Queen, not by her 
proper title, hut by that of *' the Lady Elizabeth," by which 
she was known before her accession to the throne ; and 
that he had the audacity to declare that she was *^moat 
justly deposed*" Three or four days after receiving this letter 
Lord Burghley had an interview with the priest. What 
took place at the interview cannot be better described than 
in the "Relation" written by Father Garnet, whose name 
was subBequently to startle the civilised world in connec- 
tion vnth. the Gunpowder Plot 

**The Treasurer,'' writes Father Garnet, "culled him unto audience,, 
where he «ftt in a chamher alone. And ^eing htm, such a silly 
little body as be woa, seemed to deapitie liini, laying: 

*' 'Sirra, was it you thai wrote me a letter the other day?' 

"*Yes, sir,' so-ith Mr, Woodhouse, approaching oa nenr his nose 
aa h^ could, and casting up liis head to look bim iu the face; 'that 
it waa even I, if your name bo Mr. Cecil/ 

"Wherea,! the Treusurer staying awhile, said more coldly than 
before : 

" ' Why, 8ir, will you acknowledge me notie other name nor dtle 
than Mr, Cecil?' 

"'Because/ fiaith Mr, Woodhotiae, 'fthe that gave you those names 
and titles bad no authority eo to do/ 

**'And why so?' eaith the Treaaurer. 

"'Because/ fiaith Woodhouse, *our Holy Father the Pope hath 
deposed her/ 

"'Thou art a traitor/ saith the TreaBurer/'* 

t Th» kttv is printed ia FaUj*t MmonU, 5./,, tol tii^ p. IStffi. 



I 

I 



i 



TOUEATIOir Ain> TSKA801I 5 

And there can be no donbt thst Lord Burghlej was right. 
Woodhouse was a traitor beyond possibility of dispute, and 
there can be no question that he was just the kind of nutn 
to carry his theory into practice, so far as circumstances 
would permit. Those were times when it was not safe for 
the State to tolerate treason. Only a few months before, 
by the execution of the Duke of Norfolk, the country had 
emerged safely from a dangerous conspiracy to murder 
Queen Elizabeth and to place Mary Queen of Scots on 
the throne by an armed rebellion, if the murder plot had 
failed. The proposed assassination had been organised by 
Bidolfi, the emissary of Maiy Queen of Scots and the Duke 
of Norfolk to the Pope and the King of Spain. Mignet, 
gires ua, in his life of that Queen, the minutes of a secret 
Council of State held at the Escurial on July 7th, 1571, 
ftt which Philip II. of Spain presided, when Ridolfi*8 scheme 
of assassination was solemnly discussed in the presence of 
the Inquisitor General, the Cardinal Archbishop of Seville, 
and other high officers in Church and State. ' By the good 
proTidence of God the plots for murder and rebellion were 
discovered in time, though many of the particulars were 
then unknown to English statesmen which have been brought 
to light in recent years, and the Duke paid the penalty 
for his crime. How could Burghley forget the lessons he 
had so recently learnt? When Woodhouse returned to his 
prison after his interview with the Treasurer, he was placed 
in a chamber by himself. Soon the news of his traitorous 
speeches spread all over England, and the Council felt them- 
selves compeUed to take action. At first they hoped that 
proof would be forthcoming that the priest was mad, but 
when it was clear to them that he was unmistakably a 
man with a sound mind, they ordered that he should be 
called before the Recorder of London. When there, so 
Father Qamet reports, Woodhouse ''denied the Queen to 

> ICignef I Eithry of Mmry Qu^em 0/ Scott, 7th Engtith £d.» pp. 309—811. 



9 TSS JETOITS ID GEKIT BRIT A [H 

be Queen. ^Oh!' said one, Mf jou s&w her Mnjestr, jom 
would not say ao, for ber Majesty is great* - But the 
majesty of God,' said Woodhouae, * is much greater.' " * It 
is eTident that in this itLS'iance the priest eens^idered tbf^ 
iiiajesty of the Pope and that of God as the same thing, 
the former by his deposing Bull being the mouthpiece of 
the Almigliiy. Woodhouse was at length put on his trial 
at the Guildhall. London. Ue was not charged with any 
offeoce against the religion of the Established Church of 
England, or with tcacljing Roman Catholic doctrines. The 
evidence of Father Garnet is clear on this point. He say^ 
that at the trial Woodhouse was asked — 

'*Whai he could «ay for himself ui answer to the indittwienU 
vA»M to'rt* of High Tr^a^on, ft^r df^yin^ her Miij^ty to he Queen oj 

En<jland; to which he said, they were not his jutlge^* nor for hia 
judgei^ wutild Ue ei'^er tnke ihem, being hereiica. Aud pretending 
autboHlj from her th&t could not give it to theiu/'* 

The Jury eould, of course, only find him guilty of High 
Treason, aftor such a speech, and he was accordingly 
conderaned to death, and executed at Tyburn on the date 
given above. Father IJishioa who ai the close of Eli^abetb^s 
reign wrote the continuation to Sanders^ llissg and Growth 
of ihe Antjiican Schism^ states that Woodhouse, with Dn 
Storey aod Felton, "openly refused to obey the Queen»" ' 
Ko one can truthfully say that he died for his religion, but 
for maiutaining the deposing power of the Pope, and his 
claim to interfere with the temporal government of the 
kingdoms of the world. It is therefore a most significant 
fact that the present Pope, Leo XIIL, in 1886, raised Thomas 
Woodhouse to the rank of the " Blessed," In a Menolog^^ 
published in London in 1887, "by order" of the late Cardinal 
Mannings and *'the Bishops of the ProTiuce of Westminster/^ 



» Foley, Eeeitfdi, S.J., toL v±, p. lEW, 

> SftoJeri* Rite «md Or^mtA o/tke AngtUau ScJk^^m, ^, LonAaa, 1A77» p. S17* 



nStXTS KXKCUTXD FOB THBA80S 7 

ii is declared that Woodhouse "suffered for the Faith/' ^ 
What "Faith"? It must have been faith in the deposing 
power. While in prison Woodhouse was received into the 
Society of Jesus, and Brother Folej, S.J., has inserted his 
name in a list, published in 1882, of "Martyrs of the 
English Province, S J^. (First Class)/* ' I venture to assert 
that lojal Englishmen will not think modem Jesuits justified 
in thus holding up to the admiration of Englishmen one who, 
Jesoits themselves being the witnesses, was nothing less than 
a convicted traitor though now termed a "Blessed " martyr. I 
have nothing to say in behalf of the cruel way in which Wood- 
house was put to death. It was a punishment ordered to 
be inflicted on all traitors, and in accordance with laws 
passed by the country when it was Roman Catholic Wood- 
house deserved to die. "Treason," as Mr. Froude wisely 
remarks, "is a crime for which personal virtue is neither 
protection nor excuse. To plead in condemnation of severity, 
either the general innocence or the saintly intentions of 
the sufferers, is beside the issue."' 

This record of the first execution of a Jesuit priest in 
England may be a suitable point at which to raise the general 
question — did the Jesuits and the Secular Priests who were 
put to death in England during Elizabeth^s reign, suffer for 
their religion, or for treason such as would be acknowledged 
as treason by politicians of the twentieth century ? It would 
be easy to cite Protestant authors who have maintained that 
they died only for their treasonable conduct. It is well 
known that Queen Elizabeth frequently boasted that no 
priest was executed for his religion under her rule; and 
Lord Buighley, in 1 583, wrote hia Execution of Justice 
to prove the same thing. No Protestant writer of the period 
can be produced who did not believe every executed Jesuit 
to have been disloyal, apart from religion. But what is of 

> StaatoD, MfnofOffy of En^and and Waht, p. 275. 
* Foley, Reeordt, S.J., toI. tiu, p. liir. 

> Fieoae, HistoTf of iMgiamd, toI. xi., p. IDS. 



g 



THt JSSUtTS m €BBAT BKITim 



for greater weight in forming a just opinion on this que&tion, 
Boman Catholic authors maj be quoted who agree with 
Queen Elizabeth, Lord Burghley, and Protestant writers. 
The late Mr. Charles Butler, the principal lay leader of the 
English Roman Catholics, at the beginning of the nineteenth 
centurjt in agitating for the political emancipation of his 
cD-r eligi n ists, in his Hint orical Mein o irs of the English 
Catholics^ publishes the questions put to all the priests im* 
prisoned in the time of Elizabeth, beginning with the Jesuit 
Campian and his compamous in 15SI. These questions 
were as follows; — 



«1. Whether the Bull of Pius V. A^inst the Queen's Mftjesty, 
be A lawful e^ritence, and ought to ba obeyed by the subjectd of 
li^nglandT 

** 2, Whether the Queen's Mftjeety be a lawful Queen, and ought 
to be obeyed hy tbe subjecta of En^^land, notwithstAndin^ the Bull 
of Fins V-t or any Bull or sentante that the Pope hath pronounced, 
or may pronounce a^aiui^t Her Mftjeaty? 

"». Whether the Pnpe have, or bait the power to authorise the 
Earla of Northumberland and Weatmorelandr and other Her 
Majesty's eubjecta, to rebel, or Lake n-rms against Her MajeHty, or 
to Buthoriae Doctor Sanders, or others, to invade Ireland, or any 
other her dominionB, and to bear arma against her^ and whether 
Ibey did therein lawfiiHy, or notf 

*'4, Whether the Po[>e have power to discharge any of Her 
Highnefse's uubjecta, or the •ubjects of any Cbrietiiin Prince, 
from their alle^iance» or oath of obediencei to Her Majesty^ or to 
their Prince for any cause T 

"fi. Whether the fltiid Doctor Sanders, in hia book Of tfu Vitibie 
Monarchy of the Church, and Dr. Bristow in hia Book of Motit^e^ 
(writiog in allowance^ commendation, and confirmation of the said 
Bull of PiUB v.). have therein taught, testified, or maintained a 
truth or falj?ehoodr 

*'6, If the Fope by his Bull, or sentence, pronounce her Majesty 
to be deprived, and no lawful Queen^ and her subjects to be dis^ 
charii^ed of their ailegiance, and obedience, unto her; and after 
the Pope, or any other by hie appointment and authority, do invade 
this realm, which part would you takef or which part ought a 
good subject of England to takef"^ 

Cardinal Allen, writing in 1582 to Agazarius, a Jesuit at 
Rome, declared of the first eight pnoata to whom these 
questions were put, that **If they had answered, so as to 
give satisfaction to the same Queen [Elizabeth], she would 

1 BuUer, Hkloric&i Mtimoirt of EngUth Ciithi>hc4, Sri. od., vol. i., pp. 4Sb, 426. 



XAITTBS TO THE DBPOSOta POWKS 9 

liave remitted their sentence of death, although in everything 
dse theg should profess the Catholic faUh,^^ ^ Mr. Charles 
Butler talk as that three of these eight priests answered 
satisfactorily, and their death-penalty was therefore remitted. 
He adds: — 

**Tbe pardon of the three priests who answered the six questions 
satisfibctorily, seems to show that a general and explicit diaclaimer, 
by (he Bnglish Catholics, in the reign of Queen JSHzabeth, of the 
Pope's depoBiD^ power, woald have both lessened and abridged 
the term of theur sufferings .... We may add, that among the six 
qoestions, there is not one which the Catholics of the present 
times have not fully and satisfactorily auawered, in the oaths 
which they have taken, in compliance with the Acts of the 18th, 
Slst^ and 8Srd years of the reign of his late Majesty." ' 

Sir John Throckmorton, an English Roman Catholic 
Baronet, goes even farther than Mr. Butler. Commenting 
on these same questions put to the Jesuits and other impris- 
oned priests, he writes: 

** These questions continued to be put to the missionary 
priests throughout the whole of this reign, and of the one 
hundred and twenty-four priests who suffered death, I believe 
few, if any, will be found who answered them in such a 
manner as to dear their allegiance from merited suspicion. 
Jlieif were martyrs to the Deposing powers not to their religion. • 

The fact is that, considering the times and the circum- 
stances, the Queen treated her Roman Catholic subjects with 
extraordinary clemency. Modem ideas of religious liberty 
were almost unknown, but the conduct of Elizabeth towards 
her subjects, who acknowledged the spiritual jurisdiction of 
the Pope, will contrast most favourably with that accorded 
to Protestants in Roman Catholic countries at that time. 
The contrast is as great as that between white and black. 
Father Rishton makes a very remarkable acknowledgment, 

> Qaoted in Sir John Throckmorton's Letter to ike CtUkolic Cler^. London, 
17M. ^ io«. 

* Butler, BietoricMl Memoin of English Catholice, vol. i., p. 429. 

• Throeknorton, Letter to tie CtUAoiie Ckrgy, p. 108. 



10 



tOK JESUITS IN GBEAT BBrrAlS 



wliich needs to be considered by all who desire to know 
tli6 facts of the case. HeFerring to the sufferiogs of his 
brethren in 1587, he remarks: — ^Mt is said that this cruelt;f 
is inflicted on all ranks of men far the fiofei^ of the Queen 
and the St€Ue^ more and more endangered — so they say — 
by the Catholics OTery day becoming more and more 
numerous and attached to the Queen of Scotland £Mary^ 
Queen of Scots]^ and not at all on account •/ their religion* 
Ctrtainly toe ail think so^ and all smsHle men think so too,^^ * 
Siinilar was the testimony ^f those aecular priests who were 
responsible for the publication, in 1601, of the Important 
ConsidereUionSy Bometimes attributed to the pen of Father 
Watson. These were men who knew what they were writing 
about* and they were men, too, who never wavered in their 
spiritual allegiance to the Pope, though — unlike the Jesuita 
— they rejects his claim to depose Kings from their 
thrones. 

^If,'' they wrote, "the Je^uitB had never come into England: 
If Pumona and the reat of the Jeonite, with other of our conntryineQ 
bejtmd the Seas, had ot^ver b<?eii af;«nU iii thot^e trAitorotis abd 
bloody desigtimentfi of Throckmorton, Parry, WiUiaoii, ^qnire, 
aud e^uch like , . , . Jf they had not Rought by f&Ue pcrsuft^iotie and 
ungodlv argUTu€iiii9 to have tilhircd the h carta of all Catholic? from 
their allei^iiince .... most a^uredty the State would have lofed ua^ 
or al least born« with «a : where there i& one Catholic, tlicre would 
have l>een ten; there hftd been no speeches among uh of racks 
ami toTturefl, nor aay cau&e to kave ua^d them ; for none wer« 
cy«r vexed th»t way dimply for th»t he was either a Priest or a 
Catholic, but because they were suspected to have bad their handa 
in Bome of the &&ine most traitorous design mente.^' 

It is certain that the Jesuits throughout Elizabeth's reign 
relied on physical force, rather than on their proselytising 
work, for re-eetabltshing the Pope's authority. Their dis- 
loyalty was of the most unmistakable character. In the 
year 1596 Pope Clement VIU. desired Monsignor Malvasia, 
his Agent at Bmasela, to draw up and send to him a report 

' Sindeni' Rise end Grmeik of the Angiicftn Sekitm^ p. 320. Bd- LonJnii, IBTT- 
* importMMi Coutid^atiam, pp. &5, 56. Quoted in 13erin$t<}Q't Memtfin of 



I 
I 



1 



( 



^^' 



JKUITB BELT 09 TEE ABHS 07 SPAIN 11 

on the state of the Church of Rome in Scotland. This was 
done in a document of considerable length, in which the 
political action of the Jesuits in England was also referred to. 
" The Jesuits," wrote the Papal agent, ^' hold it as an axiom 
established among them, and confirmed by the authority of Father 
Parsons, that only bj force of arms can the Catholic religion 
be restored to its former state, inasmuch as the property 
and roTenues of the Church, dirided as they are among 
heretics, and having already passed many hands, can be 
recovered by no other means. And, to bring about this 
result, they believe that the only arms available are those 
of Spain; and whether coming from Rome or elsewhere, 
they enter those countries with this idea firmly impressed 
upon them by their Superiors.^* ' 

This is a veiy important statement, the accuracy of which 
cannot be denied. The Jesuits went even farther thui this 
in disloyalty. Two years later Father Henry Tichbome, a 
Jesuit, vrriting from Rome to a brother Jesuit, Father 
Thomas Darbyshire, remarked: — "And here, by the way, I 
must advise you that Sir T, Tresham, ' as a friend of the 
State, is holden among us for an atheist, and all others of 
his humour either so or worse. ^'* We may well ask, even 
in this enlightened twentieth century, how could Queen 
£3izabeth, with safety, tolerate in England an Order whose 
chief idea of religious duty was that of fomenting rebellion 
in her dominions ? That she was acquainted with what 
was going on in the Jesuit camp is evident to all who read 
the Calendars of State Papers, published in recent years by 
the Government. A modem Roman Catholic biographer of 
Father Edmund Campian, one of the Jesuit priests put to 
death in Elizabeth's time, frankly admits that the conduct 

> Bell«lieim» HUtory of the Catholic Church im Scotland, toI. iii., p. 470. 
lagiiAh edition. 

* He was a Roman Catholie. 

* Fbtber ll^bonM^a leUer it printed in full in Lkw*s JetuiU amd SeeulMrt, 
# ff. 141— lis. 



12 



TBI JtSFfTTTS IX OEUT SSITAEl 



of BftUftrd and Catesby, and other Roman Catholic tonsplrators, 
WW such that their Proteataot adversaries were " on political 
grounds justified'* in their ** determination to persecute er en 
to exteniiination ^' such a set of Papal rebels as existed in 
those dajS' * The same writer aajs that ** The aim of the 
Pope, the Jeeuits and the Spaniards, was not to have tliem 
[[English Roman Catholics} bellerd a salutary doctrine, and 
to make them partakers of tife-gi?ing Sacraments, but to 
make them traitors to their Queen and country, and to 
induce them to take up arms in favour of a foreign 
pretender. . . • But when both sides, both Philip and Cecil, 
were equally conTinced that every firesb cocrert [to Boman- 
ism], however peaceful now, was a future soldier of the 
King of Spain agaiu&t Elirabethf toleration was scarcely 

** As affairs were inana|(ed/* he declares in another por- 
tion of his biography, **they rendered simply impossible the 
co-exiatence of the government of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth 
with the obedience of their subjects to the supreme authority 
of the Pope ; and those princes had no choice but either to 
abdicate, with the hope of receiving back their crowns, like 
King John, from the Papal Legate, or to hold their own 
in spite of the Popes^ and in direct and avowed hostility to 
them." * The anonymous Eoman Catholic priest who, in 
1603, wrote A Eeplie Unto a Certaint LibHl^ Latelle Set 
Foorth By Fa : Parsons^ well and forcibly aaked that ring- 
Leader of Jesuit traitors, the following questions. * 

" And I would/' he writeii, '* but ask Father Pjursoua (becauee I 
know him lo be a gre^t Sifttist) tbia one queetion. Whether in 
hiH conscience he do Lhink there L>e any Prince in the world, be 
h(? never e© Catholic, th.it ehould hav<5 within Uiij dnjtiiniona & 
kind tif lieople, aniouj^t whom divers times tie should discover 
matters of treason, and prnctices agaicst bis pcrRuii, and Bt&te^ 
whether be would permit those bind of peopte to live within his 
dominions, if be could he otherwise rid of them f And, whether 

1 SirapMO. Life of Sdmund Camj'Un, p. 330, 

« lAid,, p. 1V9. * /i., p. 63. 

* J bare modmiiied tbfi ipeUing im tii« nin^i from tUa book. 



I 
I 

I 
I 



I 

I 



JESUITS OPPOSED TO TOLE&ATIOH 13 

he would not make strait laws, and execute them severely aj^ainst 
such offenders, yea, and all of that company, and quality, rather 
than he would remain in any danger of such secret practices, and 
piotsT I think Father Parsons will not for shame deny this; 
especially if he remember the examples of the French Religious 
men, for the like practices expelled England generally, in a Catholic 
time, and by a Catholic Prince, and their livings confiscated, and 
ffiven away to others. The like was of the Templars, both in 
England and in France. Yea, to come nearer unto him, was not 
ill their Order expelled France for such matters, and yet the King 
And State of France &ee from imputation of injustice in that action ? 
If titiese things proceeded from Catholic Princes justly against whole 
Communities, or Orders of Religion upon just causes, we cannot 
much blame our Prince and State, being of a different religion, to 
make sharp laws against us, and execute the same, finding no less 
occasion tnereof in some of our profession, than the foresaid 
Princes did in other Religious persons, whom they punished, as 
you see." (ff. 31, 82.) 

The fitet is the Jesuits did not want a general toleration 
at this period, lest the price paid for it should be their own 
expulsion from England. In a Memorial against the Jesuits 
presented to Clement VIII. by Roman Catholics residing in 
the Low Coimtries in 1597, it is stated that: — "It is a 
eommon report in England, that had it not been for the 
pride and ambition of the Jesuits, there had, ere this, been 
granted some toleration in religion."* In 1598 Father Henry 
Tichbome, a Jesuit, was greatly alarmed at the rumour that 
a toleration might be granted to Boman Catholics by Queen 
Elizabeth, and wrote to a brother Jesuit about it : — " This 
means was so dangerous that what rigour of laws could 
not compass in so many years, this liberty and lenity will 
effectuate in twenty days, to wit, the disfumishing of the 
seminaries, the disanimating of men to come and others to 
return, the expulsion of the Society [of Jesus] . . . This dis- 
course of liberty is but an invention of busy heads, and 
neither for to be allowed, nor accepted if it might be 
procured." * The fact is the Jesuits did everything in their 
power to make toleration an impossibility. Father Preston, 
known as "Roger Widdrington/^ declared, at the commence- 

1 Law's JstniU amd Secmlart, p. 109. 
*nid^ pp. Ul, 142. 



14 



THE JlSUnS m OBKAT BEIT&IH 



meni of the seventeenth ccntuiy, that "Queen Elis&beth 
hariog diBCOTered that she ir&s romded to shew favour to 
as Dianj Roman Catholic priests as should gi^e her assurance 
of their loyalty, and to exempt ihem from suffering the 
penaltiea of her laws; aome well-meamng men went to Rome 
to carry the good news, as they thought it ; but when they ■ 
were come thither, they found themselTca much mistaken; " 
iastead of thanka, they were reproached hy the governing 
party, and branded with the name of schismatics, spies and 
rebels to the See Apostolic; and» moreover, there was one of 
that party [Father Fitzherbert, a Jesuit] compiled a treatise 
in Italian, to advise his HolineaSf that it was not good and 
profitable to the Catholic cause that any liberty or toleration 
should be granted by the State of England,'" It is probabla 
that the incident referred to by Widdrington is that which 
is recorded in the Diary of Father Mush, a secular priest, 
who thus describes an interview which he and two of his 
brethren had with Pope Clement VIII., on March 8th, 1602: — 

"We had/* writes Mush, ** audience before hia Holinesa 
the space of an hour, He answered to all the points of our 
speech, said he had heard y^tj many evil things against us, 
as that we had set out books containing heresies, that we 
came to defend heretics against his authority, in that he 
might not depose heretical Princes, etc. That we came sent 
by heretics upon their cost, that we were not obedient to the 
See Apostolic and the Archpriest constituted by him* Fqt 
a toleration or libm'ttf of consciefi^e in England, it would do 
harm and mate Catholics become heretics; that persecution 
was profitable to the Church, and therefore not to bo so 
much laboured for to be averted or stayed by toleration . . . 
[He wasj offended that we named her Queen whom the Sfe 
Apostolic had deposed and excoranaunicated." ' 

The Bull of Pius V. deposing Elizabeth from her throne, 
and absolving her subjects from their oaths of alte^^iiince, 

t Quoted il GilMon^t Fr^erp^iwf frvm Foperj, vol. rvil^ p. 26. 



I 



A QRE4T rXFlL LEAODB 



15 



hariiif^ proved & failure, it was at length determined to 
attack her in & more systematic and formidable maimer. 
To tjse a modem eipresi^ion, a gigantic " Plan of the Cam- 
paign^* was at length drawo up by the Papal authorities 
at Rome, against which the e£brt3 of Elizabeth and her 
QoTaramenti it was ex pected^ would prore altogether in 
Toin* This "Plan of the Campaign** was embodied in the 
articles of a League between Pope Gregory XIII,, Philip IL 
King of Spain, and the Duke of Tuscany, The consequencea 
of thi3 League were of so important a character that ife 
may be well to reprint its articles here in exienso, 

"On Thursday tfa« ISth February, in the year 1580, the Ambas* 
ladors of the Catholic King ami the GrAnd Duke of Tuscany were 
tof^ether at tb« auitience (in Kou^e), whea a League Agaiiut tUo 
Queen of Eng^land was cotielnriod between bia Holinewi and the 
fiivltl Gruud Duke in m&nner fi^liowmg: 

" 1. That hie Holinesa will furnish 10,000 infantryt 1,000 cavalry, 
the Catholic King 15,000 iiifajiUy,, aiul l,5CiO cAvuhy, and the Gtaod 
DuVe SyOOO ittfnntry, t^t^d 100 CAvalry ; and to theae foroee are bo be 
added the Gernians who have gone to Sp&iUr and vho are to be 
paid pr^ mtd by the above tsfitrted PnQC<?ft. 

**%. Should it pleaae our I^ord God to jHve good speed &r)d buc- 
eew to the expeditdun, the popul&tioDs are in the drtt pln<ie, uid 
abore m\\ thinics, to he adDioiiiahed, ou the part of his Holinem, 
to reCurn to their ohedieace and devotioo to the Hom&n CabhoHo 
Church, in the sume Qianner a^ their predecc-eacrd b^-ve done. 

**^, That his Holiness, aa Bovereiirn Lord of the Island (of 
En^laiKl), will grant power to the Catholic noble^i of the Kingdom 
to elect a Catholic Lord of the laWd, who, under the authority 
of the Apostolic See wiU be declared King, and who will render 
obedience a«d feaity to the ApOfltolio See, aa the other Catbolks 
Kiiigfl hare done before tne time of the U^t Heary. 

" 4. That Queeo Eiiiabtjth be declared »n uanrper and incapable 
to re]g;n, bocauae «he irae bom of an iilegitimate marriat^e, and 
tiecanee she la a heretic. 

*'5. That i}xe pffoperty of the Church shall he recovered Irom 
the poaaesnion of the present owners, and men of quality and 
learned meu of tlti^ connlry ehall be appointed BUbops and Abbota, 
and lo 8101 iW offlceM, and they, bj the examples of their lives, 
ao4 by preaching, ahall endeavour to bring back the people to 
the true relij^ion, 

**^. That the King of Bpaln ie not to make any other engage- 
went, escept to enter into a Lea^^oe and r&liition&btp. if he pieaae, 
with the King to be ekcted, and ^o, thnt ibey united together, 
may aaeist the affairs both of the Island and ot Fhuiders. 

^7. That the Qo^eji of Scotland is to be set at liberty, and to 
be aided to return to her Kingdom, shontd she deaire to do no* 



1$ 



TEs jEBtim IS <}mSAT aBirim 



"S, That his HoHneaa will U8« his beet iDfluence with ibe Kinj? 
of Fr«Doe, in order thAt neither hi» Majesty, nor MouMeur his 
briMber, ahait give assiatance either to the Queea, or to the Fiemia^ 
Against Spain. 

**9. Thftt the Bull of excommunication which Piiis Vi of happy 
menooTV ist^ncHl n^ainst the aoid Qoeea be publijibed in the Courts 
of ill CUriBtiao princes. 

'*10, Tbat the English C»lhoIic9 ehikll he received in the army, 
and granted itiitable pay iccordin^ to their rank," ^ 

Ko time was lost in making the terms of this League 
Imown to those Roman Catholics in England anj Ireland 
who were expected to actively assist it, Camden tells ua 
that in the same fear the Popish faction ^* published in 
print that the Bishop of Rome and the Spaniard had conspired ■ 
together to conquer England, and expose it for a spoil and 
a prey; and this thej did of purpose to give com'&ge to 
iheir own party, and to terrify others from their allegiance ■ 
to their Prince and country/* * Within a few montlis aft-er 
the League waa ratified, printed copies of the Articles were 
circulated in England and Ireland. In the month of July 
one William Jeowe, of Bridge water, confessed to the Earl of 
Ormond and to Nicholas White, Master of the Rolls of 
Ireland, that he had giren out twenty copies in England, 
that *'the same was commonly abroad in England;" and 
that he had received his copies from *' Mr, Harry Bowser 
[Bourchier], brother to the Earl of Bath." * In the Calendar 
of Carew Manuscripts it ia stated that " these Articles wer© 
brought by the Prince of Condy to the Queen's Majesty 
and her Council."* No wonder therefore that the Queen 
was alarmed* Philip H. , on whom the success of the 
League mainly depended, was the most powerful monarch 

^ Tfacie Arlicle» are prinled id tfa« Cah^dar of Vtm^tmn Slate Ftprrt, voL tii., 
pp, 650, 0&1; uid iu lbs Calwndar of ii^e Carine Mtantuetifib, Ibla — 1583, 
pp. SS&, £89. In tbe Utier tbe dfttc uf the Leagtm ii given ms tht 23n{ Fefaruiry. 
Thfl two ver&mtiB of Ihe Articlai ^ary ilightly, but not in any importftut point. 

« Ciiadco'i Eiic^heih, p. £47. Ed. lOSS. 

* Caltnd^ir of Carfw Hanutcrijitt, U7S— 158S. p. 2S0« 

* Ihd., p. £S9. 



TEE JBS0IT XISSIOR 8TABTS FOB BVGLAND 17 

in the irotld; and it was therefore absolutelj necessary to 
take measures for the protection of her throne and the 
country. The Pope's claim to the supreme GoTermnent in 
temporal matters in England, was one she was determined 
neTer to submit to, and in this resolution she was heartily 
supported by the nation. 

But it was not enough for the conspirators at Borne to 
make known their designs to those whom they could trust. 
If the Papal Plan of the Campaign were to succeed, it 
was necessary to commence operations without a moment's 
loss of time. The necessary preparations occupied a good 
deal of time, but by the 18th of April, 1580, everything 
was ready for the despatch of the Jesuit missionaries 
to England, who on that day left Rome for their native 
shores. A month later an army of soldiers was sent to 
Ireland to raise a rebellion there. In the opinion of 
those who sent the Jesuits to England, they were so many 
John the Baptists, whose duty it would be to prepare 
and make ready the way for the Papal army to follow 
them. The leaders of the band were Father Edmund 
Campian and Father Robert Parsons; and they were 
accompanied by Ralph Emerson, a Jesuit lay brother, 
Ralph Sherwin, Luke Kirby, and Edward Rishton, the three 
latter being priests. As far as Rheima they had for 
companion Dr. Nicholas Morton, whO; in 1569, had been 
sent into England by Pope Pius V. to stir up the Earls of 
Northumberland and Westmoreland to the rebellion against 
Slisabeth which, in that year, they actually raised in the 
North of England. The daily conversation of such a man, 
who remained with them until the last day of May, or for 
nearly six weeks, would certainly not tend to increase any 
loyalty to the English throne which Campian and Parsons 
may be supposed to have possessed. At length the two 
leaders of the party arrived in England, as already related, 
and at once commenced their labours. Before leaving Rome 
Parsons and Campion had consulted the Pope on the question 



18 



THI JESUITS IN GRKiT BRITAIN 



of Pius y/s Bull excommunicating and deposmg Elisabeth, 
and receired from the Pontiff the following faculties bearit^ 
on thi» aubject, permitting her Roman Catholic subjects to 
obey her, until the Bull could be executed, but affirming 
that it was still binding on the Queen and her Prot^tant 
subjects : — ^^H 

'*Let it be d^ired of otir roost Holy Lofd the *i plication of 
tbti Bull DecliLratory mftde by Plus V. a^ninBt£Iixab€th» »nd such 
M do adhere lo or obej her; which Bull the CathoUci defiire lo 
be understood in thid mftuneri^Thiit the s&tne BM shaU AtwAya 
oblige her aud the heretics, but the Catholics it fihall by no means 
bind ab AfTair^ do i]OW stand, but hereafter, when the public ejecu* 
tion oi the said BuU may be had or miuie^ ■ 

**Tbe Pope hath grunted these foresaid graces to Fatberv Eohert ■ 
arsona, and Ednjund Campian, who are now to go into Englaud ; ■ 



Parson a 

the 14th day of April, 1530; 
euOr Aseistant/' > 



Present, the Father Oliverius Manar* 



I 



Now the rery fact that such a document ad this was 
taken by tho&e Jesuits into England^ and shewn by tham 
to the £ngllsh Koman Catholics whom they met^ waa in 
itself a most disloyal act. For the document expreaslj 
acknowledges the BuU of Piua V, as still binding on the 
Queen '*&nd the heretica." Father Tiemey, writing in 1840, ■ 
justly remarks:-— ^' It is clear that, with this dispensation in 
their possession, no protestation, however explicit, either 
from Campian, or from his associates^ could possibly be 
receiTed as an indication of their real opinion^ on the sub- 
ject of the deposing power claimed by the Pope. . . . They 
professed their obedience to the Queen, but they also asserts, 
either directly or by implication, the power of the Pope to 
deprive her: and they plainly intimated that, if the case 
should arise, their own exertions would not be wanting to 
second the declaration of their superior**' ^ Every loyal 
Englishman must admit the justness of Mr. Froude^s opinion 
of theee faculti*?g; — **The poison of asps," he writes^ **waa 

p. 130, 4t]) editioa. 

' TknH7'i DoddTs Church HiitoTy, roL iii,, p. IS, neU. 



TBI JX817IT8 AT BOUTffWASK BTNOD 19 

under ihe lips of the bearers of snch a message of treachery. 
It conld not be eommanicated, as Burghley fairly argued, 
vithoat implied treason. No plea of conscience could alter 
the nature of things. To tell English subjects that they 
might continue loyal till another soTereign who claimed 
their allegiance was in a position to protect them, was to 
assert the right of that sovereign, as entirely and essentially 
as to inrite them to take arms at his side.*^ ' 

Within a few weeks after their arrival in England, Par- 
sons and Campian were present, in the month of July 1580, 
at a Synod of Boman Catholic priests held at Southwark, 
at which were also present some of the principal lay Roman 
Catholics. At this Synod the two Jesuits, writes Mr. Simp- 
son, **made oaths before God^ and the priests and laymen 
assembled, that their coming [to England] was only apostol- 
ical, to treat matters of religion in truth and simplicity, 
uid to attend to the gaining of souls, without any pretence 
or knowledge of matters of State." ' After taking this 
oath, it is said that they exhibited their '* Instructions *^ to 
their assembled brethren ; bat if they did so they must hare 
kept from their sight the conclusion of the following extract, 
given from those "Instructions" by Campian's biographer: — 
"They must not mix themselves up with affairs of State, 
nor write to Rome about political matters, nor speak, nor 
allow others to speak in their presence against the Queen, 
except^ perhaps^ in the eompamj of those whose fidelity has 
been long and steadfast^ and even then not without strong 
reasons." ' So that, after all, it was a rule with exceptions. 
If the oath these men took is accurately described by Mr. 
Simpson — and I see no reason to doubt it — Parsons and 
Campian were guilty of perjury. I think it probable that 
they acted on the principle subsequently laid down by 
Parsons himself, in his Treatise Tending To Mitigation: — 

> fmde's Sisiorj of RtffUtnd^ toL xi., p. 57. 
' Simpton't Cmmpwit p. 180. 
s IM^ p. 100. 



20 



THE JESUITS IK OBEiT BEITUN 



'*Tbe iubaUuioe of School dootrine in this poia^ uid of C&non 
LAwyprs is, that when a man ii offered injury, tn un/iufii/ urffM 
t^ utUr a tecret, that without his biirt or loss, or public damaf^e be 
may not do; then is it laorful for him wiLhoat lying or peijury^ 
to answer either in word or oath, accordit^g to bis own intention 
and meaaing, so it be true, (hoviffh th^i beartrr 6* deceived therewith" * 

Even the most ardent a^irer of Parsons must admit, 
tbat he at any rate, did not subsequently act in accordance 
with the oaib he took at the Synod of Southwaik. Father 
Knox tells us that on hm amTal in England, Parsons '* lost 
no opportunity of acquainting himself irith the political 
state and sentiments of the Cathohc body, and he enjoyed 
quite exceptional means of gaininf;: this information through 
the many Catholic gentlemen who spoke to him on the 
subject, when treatinf^ with, him of their consciences.** ' 
Here we have, probably^ the first known instance in England 
of a Jesuit utfing the Confessional for political purposes. 
Within three months after the Southwark Synod, vi^,, in 
October 1580, Parsons and Campian, who had been mean^ 
while separately traTelling through the country, met again 
at William Griffith's house near U abridge, and related to 
each other the adventures through wliich they had passed 
during those months. Mr. Simpson affirms that if Parsons 
had then ^' been gifted with a prophetic spirit, he might hare 
told bow he had planted at Lapwortb Park and other 
places round Stratford-on-Avon the seeds of a polUkal 
Popery thiU wm denimed in soine tteeniy-jive years to bring 
forth the Gunpowder Plot:* ' 



In carrying on their missionary and other labours. Par- 
sous, Campian, and the Jesuits who assisted them, received 
important aid from an Association of Koman Catholic young 
Qoblt^men and gentlemen, which had been inaugurated shortly 
before the arrival of Parsons in England. The founder of 

> Panooft, J fr*aii*€ Ttrndim^ 2b MttigtiuMt, 1607. p. 437. 

* Knoi^i Rf^ordi of Emfiuh CaiAolict, tol. iL, p. xixiii. 

* 6imp*on'i Campiatt, p. 176, 



i 



A noBiT JBsniT oBoimsATioir 21 

this Association was a young gentleman of great wealth, named 
George Gilbert. In 1579 he had become a Roman Catholic, 
mider the influence of Father Parsons, who acted as his god- 
father on the occasion of his reception, which took place on the 
Continent He was received into the Jesuit Order shortly 
before his death in 1583. This Association which was appar- 
ently a sodality affiliated to the Prima Pritnaria mentioned 
below, ' supplied the Jesuits with money, disguises and hiding- 
places. The members further assisted them by arranging 
intenriews with Protestants whom it was probable they would 
induce to forsake their religion for Romanism. The Associa- 
tion was formally blessed by Pope Gregory XIII., on 
April 14, 1580, ' that is within two months after the date 
of his League with the King of Spain and the Duke of 
Tuscany, against Queen Elizabeth. The names of its prin- 
cipal members are well known. Mr. Simpson, after mention- 
ing MTend of them, adds : — " It will be seen by the above 
list that the young men not only belonged to the chief 
Catholic families of the land, but that the Society also 
furnished the principals of many of the real or pretended 
plots of the last twenty years of Elizabeth and the first 
few years of James I. So difficult must it ever be to keep 
a secret organisation long faithful to a purely religious and 
ecclesiastical purpose." ' The question here naturally arises, 
have the Jesuits of the present day any more or less " secret 
organisations" at work in our midst, under their guidance, 
and for their own ends? If one Pope (Gregory XIII.) could 
bless and sanction a secret Society of this character, why 
may not a Leo XIII. ? We know, of course, that the Church 
of Rome in recent years has bitterly denounced secret soci- 
eties. That is her rule; but may there not be exceptions 
to it? What was considered morally right for a Gregory 
XUL to do, cannot be morally wrong for a Leo XIII. What 

I See Clupter XI. 

* Foley** Record* of Engluh Province, 5,/., toI. iii., p. 627. 

* Simpson*! Ciam^uM^ p. 15S. 



22 



THB JESUTTfl m 0ES4T BSlTilH 



I have written below about the Prima Primaria seems to 
supply an answer to tbis question, * Mr* Froude, referring 
to this 16th centurj AssooiatioD, reDiarks: ^^In the list of 
its members may be read the names of Charles Arundel, 
Francis Throckmorton, Anthony Babington^ Chidocke Tich- 
bourne* Cbarlea Tilnej^ Edward Abington, Richard Salisbury, 
and William Tresham; men implicated^ all of thftn, after- 
teai'da in plots for the assasHnation of the Que€n» The 
subsequent history of all these persons is a sufficient indica- 
tion of the effect of Jesuit teaebing and of the true objects 
of the Jesuit mission." ' 

The existence of such a disloyal Jesuit Association was 
a standing danger to the State, which the Government could 
not safely treat with contempt. Its members were men with 
a large number of dependants, who, were a foreij;^ iuTasion 
to take place, would be certain to take the side of their masters 
against the Queen. Much of the suEering endured by the 
lay Roman Catholics of England may be justly attributed 
to the eiistence of this disloyal and secret organisation. 

The missionary career of the Jesuit Caropian was destined 
to be a Tery brief one. He was ia many respects a different 
man from his companion Parsons. The latter was rough 
and uncouth in his manners, more puf^acious in erery way, 
a kind of ecclesiastioal Ishmael, whose hand was, all the 
days of his life, against almost everybody outside his own 
Order, and one whose most bitter foes, in his later years, 
were the En^^lish secular priests of hia own Church. Cam* 
piun, on the other Irnnd, was refined in bis deportment, 
with a plea.sing manner, and possessed of great oratorical 
power as a preacher. Crowds flocked to hear him, where?er 
it was known that he was about to preach. In Ida famous 
challenge he affirmed that he took no part in political 
matters. " I never had mind," be wrote in hia challenge, 
** and am strictly forbidden by^ our Fathers that sent me, to 

1 S«B in/ra, p, 320. 

* Pfond«'i Hittofy of Biy*iwf, toJ. iL, p. 63. 



cMMKAM^B u i' mm w wm Qum sloabitr 28 

deal in any respects with matters of State or policy of this 
realm, aad those things which appertain not to my voca- 
tioQ, and from which I do gladly restrain and sequester my 
thoughts." * This assertion of Gampian was untrue, and 
therefore serves to lessen our confidence in several of the 
statements he subsequently made at his trial. We have 
already seen that in the Instructions which he and Par- 
sons had received from the authorities of the Jesuit Order, 
they ,were distinctly informed that when " strong reasons *' 
justified such conduct, they might " mix themselves up with 
afi^rs of State, in the company of those whose fidelity has 
been long and steadfast/' ' A good deal of additional light 
is thrown on Gampian*s political views, by an extract from 
a letter of his quoted by the learned Bishop Thomas Barlow 
(Bishop of Lincoln from 1675 to 1692)^ in his work on 
7^ Ounpowder Treason^ published in 1679. Campian wrote : — 
"All the Jesuits in the world have long since entered into 
convenant, any way to destroy all heretical Kings; nor do 
they despair of doing it effectually, so long as any one 
Jesuit remains in the world." ' 

In the month of July 1581, Campian was arrested and 
brought to London. Two days after his arrival, the Queen 
herself bad a private interview with the now famous young 
Jesuit. Elizabeth was evidently anxious to spare his life. 
She asked him if he regarded her as his lawful Sovereign. 
The faculties which he possessed, allowing Roman Catholics 
to obey her, notwithstanding the Bull of Pius V., excommu- 
nicating and deposing her, enabled Campian to answer that 
he did. She then asked him for a declaration more distinctly 
loyal, in short that he should repudiate the temporal preten- 
sions of the Pope, and his right to excommuolcate her. He 
refused to make such a declaration. ^ Had he done so, 

> Foley*! Reeordt of RtglUk Province, S^., toI. iii., p. 830. 
* See page 10 lupra. 

> Biehop Tboouu Barlow's Ounpowder Treaton, p. 42. Loadoo, 1079. 
« PrD«ae*« HUtory #/ England, toI. x\,, p. 02. 



24 



TIX JVBVITS IK GRUT SBITAJK 



there can be no doubt that he would have sared his 1 

The result of his djaloyal silence was that he was remanded 
to prison, there to wait his trial. But meanwhile he was 
subjected to the torture, and that to such an extent that 
when asked bj his judges to plead to the indictrcent, bj 
holding up his hand^ he was unable to comply with the 
request hj raising it aa high as bis fellow -prisoners, one 
of whom held it up for him. Campian was not the onlj 
priest put to the rack by Elisabeth ^s Government. No 
honest Pratestant writer, who has studied the subject, can 
deny that dozens of priests were cruelly treated in this 
manner. If any one wishes to see the evidence of thia, ■ 
let him road the late Mr. Darid Jardine's treatise On the 
Use of Torture in the Criminal Law of Eti^land Prevk/usltf 
To the Common icealth. It ia the work of a Protestant 
lawyer, and the State documents he cites must, when 
perused, remove all doubts on the subject. Yet I would 
remind Jesuit and Roman Catholic writers of the present I 
day, that thetj have no right to throw stones at Elizabeth^s 
Goremment for what they did in this respect. Mr. Jardine 
shows that although the use of torture was common in 
England before the Commonwealth, yet that it was decided M 
by ''all the judges of England '' (p, 10) that "no such " 
punishment [as torture] is known or allowed by our law" 
(p. 12). He adds:— 



" Here then, ia a practice re]nij:nnnt to renBon, juBtice and human- 
ity — oenaurecl and condemned upon principle by philoBOphere and 
atftteamen, — dononnced by the moat ©laiuent iiiitboritiee on muni- 
cipal taw^ — and finnlly declared by the twelve jud^^ea, not only 
to be iHe^al^ but to be altogether unknown a$ a punixhmfint to 
the l&w of England* As far as autbority };oes, therefore, the crimes 
of murder and robbery Are not more diatiuctly forbidden by cue 
eriiniDfil code th&n the applicAtioti of the torlui^ to wittie->aea or 
accuaed persona ia condemned by the orncles of the Common law." ^ 

Mr. Jardine adds Ihat when torture was actually used in 
England, it was done **at the mere discretion of the King 

1 Jariliuf, Oa i^^ Utf of Toriurf^ p. 12. 



I 



^ 



25 

aad ihe Priyy Council, and uncontrolled by anj law besides 
the prerogative of the SoTereign/^ ' The last recorded instance 
of the nse of torture in England is dated Maj 22, 1640. 
In Roman Catholic France it was not abolished until 1789, 
and in Austria it continued until the middle of the eighteenth 
eentorj. I do not for one moment justify Elizabeth^s 
Gk>Temment in the use of torture; on the contrary, I 
deeply deplore it, and consider it worthy of the severest 
censure. 

Several matters of importance were made known at Cam- 
pian*8 trial, for particulars of which I am indebted to his 
bic^^pher. The Queen's Counsel declared that:— '* It is 
the use of all Seminary men, at the first entrance into 
their Seminaries [i.e., the Colleges, on the Continent, for 
educating English Roman Catholic priests], to make two 
personal oaths, the one unto a book called BrisUno^s Motives 
for the fulfilling of all matters therein contained ; the other 
unto the Pope.^* Campian, in reply, denied that " men of 
riper years" were compelled to take the oath to Bristow's 
Motives^ adding that "none are sworn to such articles as 
Bristow*s but young striplings that be under tuition." This 
admission was a remarkable one, and after it no one can 
deny, who is acquainted with the book mentioned, that the 
teaching of those Seminaries was calculated to make the 
students disloyal to Elizabeth. 

This book was issued with the imprimatur of William 
Allen, subsequently known as Cardinal Allen, as "in all 
points Catholic, learned and worthy to be read and printed/* 
This approbation was dated April 30, 1574, and therefore 
the book had been in circulation for seven years when 
Caropian*s trial took place. Several editions were published. 
That which I possess is dated, Antwerp, 1599. The last 
edition was issued in 1641.' The following extracts from 

1 Jardine, On ths Xlte of Torture, p. 13. 

' 6Ulow*s BikUoffTttpkicai Dictionary of Englitk Caiholki^ vol. i., p. 804. 
A work of grart valne, to wkieh I tm much indebted for nluabla information. 



am VB MmmtB m obs^t Buritit ■ 

this book will sh«w its tnutoroaa character, and scire to 
jaatify the English QoTenuneat iu its sterti dealings towards 
tbe Seminary priests. ■ 

" Whereby it is m^nilmt^^ write* Bristow, ** that they do mieerably 
foTfret tbemselTea, who fear not ihe exconunupicalions of Pius 
Quintufi, of holy m^znorj; m wbom ChrUt Himaelf lo have apokea 
aud excommunicated, aa in 3l Pauli tbey might consider by the 
snirAclea, thut Chri3t by hinir (l« by St, PauI did work." < 

*'And if at Any time it hAp^n after lonjif tolera^on, humble 

Lbeseecbiiifc, and oft«o admonition of very Ticked and notorioua, 

lapoetAtea or heretics^ no other hope of amendment appeariogr but 

the filthy more and more daily deSHoir himself and othera to the 

hnf;« fcreat heap of their owti dumnation^ thftt After All thiit thti 

r Sovereiffu authority of oor Conimoii P&stor in religion, for the 

(iaving of K)ul», do duly di)ichtir^e t\» from fi(ibjectit>D, and the 

PHnt^e offender frcra his dominion » with such grief of the heart 

Ih it both done of the Tstst<yr, and Uiken of the people, as if « 

mail ahonld haTo cat off from bia body, for io sard tbe frhole, 

•oiue most principal but rotten part ther^ot" ' 

These extracts^ as sworn to by the students of the foreign 
Seminaries, fully recognise the Talidity of the deposing Bull 
of Pius v., and affirm that Elizabeth was no longer to be 
obeyed by her subjects. But Bristow further praised the 
attempted rebellion of the two Earls n^ainst Elizabeth, in 
1569, which had been biassed by the Pope, and held up 
the memories of those justly punished for their treason and ^ 
rebellion, as so many Martjnrs for the true Faith. ^H 

"For a full answer to theni dlL" wrote Briitow, "althoiJ|;b the 

_ Yery naminir of our Catholic Martyr?^ even of lhi« our time* to 

jraaaonAbie men may trnflTice a* . . . the good Earl of Korthunil>er- 

rlftnd, D, Btory, Felton, the Nortona, M. Woodhouse, M. Pluuitree, 

and BO many hundreds of the NorLhemmen: sach meo^ boLh in 

their lift?* and at their death, that neither the ecemi^ have to 

ituin ihem, aa their own congciencea, their owu talk, and the 

world itt^elf bear good witness: many of them also, and therefore 

M of them becnune of their own caiis*^. beiuf? by God Himself 

approved* by miracleB most undoubted : although^ 1 say, noreaeoD- 

ft-bie man will thiuk, thoee slinking Martyrs of the heretics worthy 

in any wav to be compared with these inoet glodoua Martyrs of 

the Catholics;'* 

1 Bristow't Mativei^ fol 31. 
» md., fol. 154. 
L * Ibid., foh, 72, 75. 



TB1AS09 or TEE BKHnUST COlLSdflB 



27 



The Seminar; Colleges did not improve as the years went 
on. Thej Vecame more and more the political foes of the 
Queen and her GoTemment, and had to be treated accordinglj. 
Cardinal D^Ossat, who was well acquainted with what was 
going on, wrote on Not. 26, 1601, to Henry IV,, King of 
France, concerning the Seminaries at Douay and St. Omers* 

'*The principal care which these OoUe^e^ and Semtnuriee have, 
\B to catechise and bring op these young EngUah geutlemen id thi^ 
Faith and tira belief that the tate Ki&^ of ^pam had, and 
th&t hifl children now baTe, the true right of auccefialon lo tJ^e 
Crown of England; aod that thig la advantiig^oue aud expedieat 
for the Catholic F^itb, not only in En^land^ bnb wherever Christi- 
aDity is. 

"And when tbeee yoang English gentlemen have tiRiahctl their 
bnmanity stiidiea, and are come to such an age, then to make 
them thoroughly Spaniards, they are carried out of the Low Ooan- 
iriea into 9|wiii, where there are other GollB>:ea for tbetu, wherein 
they are inntrticted in philosophy niad Divinity, and confirmed in 
the same belief and hoty faith, that the Kingclom offinglAoddid 
belong to the ]aXe King of Spam, and does now to his children* 
After that tbeee young English gentlemen have finbhed theif 
oouniee, those of t.hem that are found to bia nioel Uispanioli^dd, 
and moet courageouR and firm to thia 8pftniah creed, are £eat into 
England to aow thi« fnith ^mong them, to be apies, and gire 
sdvice to the Spaniards of whiit is doing in England, and what 
most and ought to be done to bring England into the Spaniards' 
hftnda; and if need be to undergo Martyrdom aa booq, or rather 
r, for thii Spanish faith, than for the Oatholic religion." ^ 



The College of St, Omers was founded by the Jesuits in 
1594, Its object was to famish the Jesuit Colleges in 
Rome and Spain with scholara whom they had themselvea 
trmtned from their early years, A modern apologist for Douay 
Collie, the late Father Knox, comments on Cardinal D'Ossat's 
letter, but he meet^ his startling statements conceming the 
chief object of the Seminaries named, by tho unwarranted 
statetnent thnt the *' intrinsic value" of the CardiDaFs letter 
is very small. He admits, however, tliat at that time " the 
English Jesuits were devoted adherents to the Spanish King; " 
and that ^* the English Seminaries abroad were either governed 

* lHtr*j CmnL DOmt, Pirt 2, i. 7. QaotBd io G«'i Jnmis Memmi»i, 
fatMdxtioa, p. ilvi. 



28 



THB JtamTB IN OIIAT BRITini 



by the Jesiiits or at leasts as in the case o( Douay Callege 
wilder their influence." ^ 

To return to Campian, whom we left before hi a judpfes. 
The extracts from Brldow^A Motim^^ f^i^^n^ above, were 
brought before him, as they had already been during his 
examination. A loyal man would haTe at once repudiated 
such traitorous doctrine. The Qaeeti's Counsel asked him: 
*'Hqw can a man be faithful to our State, and swear per- 
formance to those Motives?'*^ to which Campian replied, 
" Whether Bristotes Motives be repugnant to our laws or no^ 
is not anything material to our indictment, for that we a^e 
neither Seminary men, nor sworn at our entrance to any such ■ 
Mritiv^s^ ' It was noted that he carefully abstained from 
censuring the doctrines of Briatow. The record of Cam* 
pian^a examination in prison on these points, which was 
taken on the 1st of August, 1581, is interesting. It is as 
follows, and was signed by himself: — 



I 



"Edmund Oampian bein^ demanded whether be would acknow- 
ledge the pnblishinpf of these things before recited, by Sandet^ 
Bri&tow, and Allen, to be wicked in the whole, or any part ; and 
whether he dolh at this present acknowledge ber Majesty to be 
a true and lawful Qneen^ or a pretend^ Queen, and deprived, 
and in possession of her Crown only de fat^io: ho annwereih to 
the first that he meddleth neither to nor fro^ and will not further 
answer, but req^uireth that Ih^j may anewer* To the second he fiaith, 
thnt this question d6pendeth on tha fnct of Plus QuintiiB, whereof h 
he is DOt to judj^e^ and therefore refuscih further to aafiwer." * ■ 

Another matter of importance made known at the trial, 
was the fact that disloyal oaths had been administered to 
th« English people. Mr, Simpson tells us that "The Clerk 
of the Crown read certain papers, containing in them oaths , 
to be administered to the people for the renouncing their ^ 
obedience to her Majesty, and the swearing of allegiance 
to the Pope, acknowledging him for their supreme head 



> Tietaoy'i B^dtft Ckureh Bittorff, wol. ill 



AppcndiXj p. li. 



■XICUTION OF CAMFIAN §9 

and goTernor; the wliieb papers were found in divers houses 
where Campian had lurked, and for religion been entertained.** ^ 
Campian pleaded that there was no eTidence before the 
Court, that he had circulated those papers; but he could 
not deny that the circumstances were suspicious. We need 
not wonder that the jury found him guilty, nor yet that, 
however sad it may be, he su£Pered subsequently the punish- 
ment of death. He was a martyr to the deposing power 
of the Pope, not to his religion. On the 9th of December, 
1886, Pope Leo XIII. raised Campian to the r$^k of a 
"Blessed" Martyr. 

1 SifflpMa*t CwfykM, p. 891. 



CHAPTER II 
A GREAT JESUIT PLOT IN SCX)TLAHD 

Towards tlie clos« of 1573 a remarlkaLIe Jesuit plot was ml 
course of devetopment in Scodand, which bad for its object" 
the destruction of ProtesiantisEn in that country, with a view 
to restoring Marjr Queen of Scots to the throne which 
she had lost, or at least that she might share it with her 
aon ; and this as a preliminaij to placinif her on the throne 
of England also, as soon as Elizabeth bad be€Q deposed. 
Carnal weapons were alone relied on for the success of Uiis 
plot. It was then as it always has been @ince with the 
Jesuit Orderj which relics more on political machinations 
than on mere proaeljtising efiorts. The principal tool of 
the Jesuits in this plot Wiui Esmc Stuiirt, Lord of Anbignj, 
a joung^ Frenchman, and a near relative of the jouthfulj 
James VI. , King* of Scotland, Aubignj had been educated 
by the Jesuits, and in September, 1579, he was sent ove 
to Scotland ou the pretence of con^atulatin^^ the King on 
his entrance to his kingdom. He announced that his visi^ 
would be very brief, and that, on its terminationf he intende 
to return at once to France. * A modern Jesuit write 
informs us that Aubigny " came over from France with ths 
express object of destroying Morton, ' who, for politic 
reasons, was at that time tlie chief supporter of the Pro- 
testant interests in Scotland. Before leaving his home 
Aubigny had a conference with the Roman Catholic fiisho| 



1 CmlderwoodU Eutaty 0/ tie Kitk 0/ Se^iUnd, toI. iii,, p. 46L Wo 
Society Editiou, 

3 ifarrative* of ScoiiUk CaiMici, edilcd by W, Foibta Uttb. SJ., p. lOf 



AUBIOHT 8TABT8 FOB SOOTLAIGO 31 

of Glasgow and Ross, in which his fhtare political course 
in Scotland was arranged. It was decided that he should 
aim at dissolTing all friendly relations between Scotland and 
England, by removing from the King all those who were 
farourable to friendship between the two nations ; to procure 
an association between Mary Queen of Scots and James VI., 
her son, in the government of Scotland; and, lastly, to 
alter the religion of the country, with a view to the restora- 
tion of the Roman Catholic religion, and the suppression 
of Protestantism. ' It was a bold programme, and required 
the assistance of some of the most subtle and astute minds 
the Church of Rome could produce, to give it a chance 
of Bucceas. Secrecy was above all things essential. 

When Aubigny started for Scotland he was accompanied 
to the French coast by the Duke of Guise, who, seven years 
{weviously, had been one of the principal organisers of the 
horrible St. Bartholomew Massacre. ' The Duke was the 
man who had led, at the commencement of that Massacre, 
tte party of assassins sent to murder that brave Protestant 
hero, Admiral Coligny. He stayed outside Coligny^s house 
while the foul deed was being perpetrated by his fol- 
lowers upstairs. They were long at their evil work, and 
Chiise became impatient. At last he called out to his men, 
**Have you finished?" "It is done," was the reply of the 
murderers. "Then throw him out of the window," said 
the Duke. When the lifeless body of Coligny fell on the 
street pavement below, the brutal Guise kicked the face of 
the brave Protestant, and then exclaimed, ''Come, soldiers, 
take courage, we have begun well. Let us go on to the 
others, for so the King commands." Thus began that fear- 
fol carnage which has made St. Bartholomew's Day a day 
of homHT for all future generations. ' Guise was an active 
^irit throughout in the Jesuit plot which Aubigny was 

> Chlderwood'f Mitiory, vol. iii., p. 460. 

* md., p. 4o7. 

* Bura'i Sise of Oe HupteMota, toI ii.. p. 459. 



32 



TEK JBSUITS IK QEUT BUlTilH 



sent to Scotland to support. Bad it eticce^ded, under such 
auspicea, tb«re might have been another SL Batholcmew 
Mafisacre in Scotland. Mignet aajs that Aubignj arrived in 
Scotland *^ with a secret miaaion from ike Duke of Guise. ^ 
The Ministers of Edinburgh had wamiDg beforehand aa 
to the character of the young Frenchman. Calderwood states 
that it was Aubignj s mother^ "a very religious lady," 
who sent the warning. It was aoon evident that Aubigny 
had not come to Scotland merely for a brief visit, but that 
he meant to settle down in the country. He rapidly gatued 
the aSections of the youthful King, and was speedily promoted 
to high office. He well knew, however* that he could only 
gain his ends by disguising his religious opinions. Accordingly, 
soon after his arrival, he announced his wilhngneas to be 
instructed in the Protestant fatth. There was no time to 
he loat^ for already an outcry had been madet and the Pres- 
byterian ministers had denounced in their sermons the con- 
duct of the King in allowing so many Papists to reside at 
his Court. '*Iu a ahort time/^ says Archbishop Spottiswoode, 
Aubigny, who had meanwhile been created Earl of Lennox, 
was brought "to join himself to the Church, and openly, 
in St. Giles', to renounce the errors wherein he had been 
educated/' ' This event took place on March 17th, 15S0. * 
In the month of July, the same year, the General Assembly 
of the Church of Scotland met at Dundee* To this meeting 
Lennox thought it necessary to send a letter renewing his 
profession of Protestantism. '*It is not, I think, unknown 
to you,'* he wrote to the Assembly, " how it hath pleased 
God, of His infinite goodne^, to call tue, by His grace and 
mercy, to the knowledge of my salvation, since my coming 
in tliis land. Wherefore I render, most earnestly, humble 
thanks unto His Divine Majesty.** * Notwithstanding these 



I 



I 



< 



" ^ti|^I]et'(^ Hftiofy of Jfary Qfteen 0/ Sruiit p- 34*, SeTCuth Edition. 
» Stwttiiwoodn'i HUtorjf &/ ilLf Vkureh 0/ ScatfAnd, Scd ed,, p. 808. 
■ Mo^fM'i Mfmoiri of tkt Agmrs ef Scotian4, p. il. Edition 17B6, 
* Cddonvood'B Bitfffiyt if el iii., p, i6S« 



BOMANISTS DIBOmSINO TBXTB RELIGION 83 

reiterated professions of his belief in the Protestant faith, 
ttie suspicions of the Presbyterian Ministers continued. One 
of their number, Mr. Walter Balcanquall, in a sermon which 
he preached in Edinburgh on December 7th, 1580, declared 
that the Papists *^a£Brm that it is lawful unto a Christian, 
if he feareth any danger or trouble, outwardly to deny his 
faith and religion, with this condition, that he keep it close 
within himself. In respect whereof it is that both plainly 
thej speak and write, that if any of their Catholics come 
among ns (whom they call heretics and Calrinists), if they 
be a&aid of any trouble or danger, it is lawful for them to 
deny their Catholic or Roman religion, and so dissemble with 
the same that they do anything we bid them do, and if it 
were with their mouth to deny their Papistry, subscribe the 
articles of our religion, and be participants of the Sacraments, 
with this condition, that they keep their religion inwardly 
and heartily to the Catholic Roman Kirk, and faith thereof." 
The preacher applied his remarks to what he termed '^the 
French Court come into Scotland," meaning thereby Aubigny 
and his party. And he courageously warned his country : — • 
^If these things continue," he exclaimed, ^'and go forward, 
I will tell thee, Scotland, and those who fear the Lord 
within thee, that thou shalt repent that ever the French 
Court came into Scotland, or that erer thou saw it, or the 
buits thereof with thy eyes." * 

Two days later another faithful Minister — there were men 
in Scotland then with '^backbone," not afraid to speak out 
— John Dune, confirmed all that Mr. Balcanquall had said. 
The King was very angry with the preachers, and no doubt 
would hare punished tbem sererely, were it not that they 
receired the protection of the General Assembly of the Kirk 
of Scotland, which, at its first meeting after the sermons 
were preached, at the request of the King, appointed certain 
coaunissioners to examine Mr. Balcanquall^s sermon. They 

t CUdcrwood'i Bi$hr$, toI, iii., pp. 778—776. 



34 



THE JSSriTS IN SBXAT BBITAtH 



reported tliat tbere was "nothing either erroneous, scandalous, 
or offensiTe in his sermon, but good and sound doctrine, 
whereof they desired the Aflsemblj^s approbation.** There- 
upon the General Assemblj unanimously affirmed that the 
preacher " had uttered nothing in that sermon erroneous, 
Bcandalous^ or offensiTe, but Bolid, good^ and true doctrine, 
for which they praised God/' ^ 

The fears of the Protestant Ministers for the future were 
not lessened as the months passed by. On the contrary, 
they were, says Spottiswoode, 

"increased by tbe interception of certain DiapensatioDA s^nt troxn, 
Kome, whereby the Catholics were perroiLted to promise, sweftr, 
Bubacribp, nnd do wlia.t olee ahouJd be required of them, 9<* rs in 
Blind they continued firm, and did use tUeJr diligence to advance 
in secret tbe Komau faith. These dii^petiKations beint: shown to the 
K.injf, he cAuaed bis Minister, Mr* John CraJp, to form a ehorl Con- 
fession of Faith, wherein all tbe corruptions of Rome, ae well in 
doctrine *a outward rites, were particuWly abjured,"* 

This Con feast on of Fai th was s^ned at Edi nb urgb, 
January 28th^ 1581. U was not signed, however, until 
after the £ing had receiyed a lett;er of warning from Queen 
Elizabeth, which ought to hare opened his eyes to the 
designs of Lennox. In this conimunication (which waa read 
to the General Assembly at which the Confession of Faith 
was signed), sent by the hand of her ambassador, Randolph^ 
she informed James that: — 

" It had been discovered by sundry mejine unto her Majesty, that 
the Pope And hia adborenta have concludod, as a thinp neceasory 
to the general enterprif»e, to attempt the recovering of Scott and to 
bis obedience, and^ is eonie paxtf the manner thereof, how they 
meant to prot^eed, h&d been also unto her Majesty revealed; and 
that she b&d Keen some part thereof begun already^ which wag^ by 
sending Monsieur D'Aubij^uy, a profe^Aed Papiat, into Scotland, 
under colour of his kindred to tbe Klng^ tiiat these twenty years 
jM6i never offered any BervicE> to the E^ingi when aa he had moat 
need; partly by diaftimulatlon and courting with the Kin^, being 
young, and of noble and gentle nature^ and partly by nouriflhiog 
and making ^tione among the nobility, but epooiaily, to oppose 

1 Oldfirwood*J Biiiotyf toU iii., p. Sft5. 
* SpottiAWOodc'i SUtorif, tol, ii,, p. SOS. 



I 
I 



I 



QU78TT rLIZABETH 8 WAfiHiKOa 



35 



himtelf to sach of the nobles aa were known aff«ctioDfll«, to maiii- 
taia amity between her M fijcgty and the KiDg of Sootdj and were 
eAme«t to continue the lovo between the two n&tiona. Thereby 
to make «ome ready way, by colour of division fti^d faclion, to 
bring straixger&i being Romanist^f into tbo realm, for his party. 
And, coaaequently, by degrees to alter religion, yea, in the ood 
to briiig the peroon of the young King in dati^^^r; which ta seen 
very wwy to be done, by colour of hia office, beinff uow, without 
any proof of service done to the King or his country, made hU 
piincipal Chamberlain, and poeseaeor of hia pereoD : and eo to 
nuke himself, by the ^reatnessof bis Authority; and by hia bauding 
in faotione, but epectaUy by pretence of his nearnees of blood to 
the KiDgi to get the Crowu also, in the end to himself/'^ 

The Queen then proceeded to point out to the King 
several of the steps already taken by Aubig^ny towards the 
attaittment of his objects : and specially referred to the arre^jt 
of the Earl of Morion, who, at the instigatioa of Aubigny 
(Lennox), vras io prison at the time, on a charge of high 
treason. This ^lie considered 



"A maUer sufQcient to confiroi the just stiepioions of Monsieur 
B'Aubi^y'a iatention to become the principal ininiater of the Pope 
and bii adhercuts, for to reduce that realm [of Scotland] to the 
serritude of Kome^ whereof himself from hits birth hath been a 
professed vaasall, that now by policy (tbotiji^h some of hia company 
broujrht vrith him, and yet Becretly cherished by him, do reniaia 
vtiU Fapjfiti), be himaell. to colour his dissimulation, affirmed by 
words, to be eomesrhat otherwise changed. A matter^ being woU 
oonaideredt that served his turn the better^ to achieve bis enterprise; 
And ftuch a device^ that (a« it is confeftsed by eundry) the Pope doth 
many ^mea give dispensationB to divers for itome notable respects, 
to diaaemble cot only in bare worda and with OAthe» but also in 
outward tiu^ts to proceed to be of the Reformed Reli^ion^ otily 
to have more commodity to work their further practice. And 
of tbiff ktud had been diacovered many in England, and also iu 
Fnuiee, that had confessed such Dit^penEfatioue so to di^ticmbte; 
ye», they are taught that they, wiihoiU hurt to their Popish cou- 
aeteooe^ by oath, before any ProtesUtnt mnfiistrate, roAy deny their 
faith, and diAaemble, and breal^ any proinbe made to a Protefttant'^ * 

Notwithstanding these warnings, go fully justified by sub- 
aequent events, James contiuued his royal favour to Lennox. 
But the action of Elizabeth made it all the more necessary 
thiii Uie favourite should give one more proof of hia repudia- 

) Cbtd«nrmd*i Eutory^ vul, iU*, p* 411^1. 
* thvi., Tol. lit., p. 403. 



36 



TEfi JKStnxa m obkat BKiTAtir 



tion of Popery, and of his allegiance to the Pratestant faith, 
and therefore he was the first to Hwear to and sign the 
Confession of Faith, after the King. That he should be 
guilty of i/rhat — in his case — was nothing less than perjury 
in its most abominable fonn^ only proves that he was, as 
Mr. Froude affirms, ** accomplished in all arts, whether of j 
grace or villainy/' ' As showing^ the depth of his wickedness, 
ftB to which no eyidence exists that he was eyer censured 
by the Pope, I here subjoin the text of the principal por- 
tions of the Confession of Faith itself, which he swore to 
and signed. The original document is preserved in the Adro- 
cates' Library, Edinburgh :^ 

•*We all, and every one of ua underwritten, proteet, that afler a 
long and due examiriAlion of our own coiiseiencea in mattt<.rs of 
true and false rolisfion^ are now thornughly resolved in the truth, 

by the Word and Spirit of God And^ therefore, we abhor &Qd 

detest &11 contrary reli^on and doctrine; but chiefly &L1 kind oft 
pA]U8try in general and particular heada, even as ^ey are qowi 
damned and conful^ by the Word nf God and Kirk of Scotland* 
But in flpeciaU we detest and refuse the usurped authority of thai 
Soman Antrchn^t upon the Scriptures of God. upon the Kirk, 
iho Civil Ma^iHtrate, and cousciences of men; all hh tyrannical 
lawH made upoo indiiTerent tliiD^ a^atD»t our Christian Liber- 
ty; .. . hia blnflphemoud opinioii of Trauaubatantiatiou, or 
Seal Freeence of OhtiBt'a body in the elements * » • hie deviliah 
Maaa: his blaaphemoua prieathoodf h'lti profane Sacritice for the 
Btua of the dead and the livinjjj; hia canonisation of moo, caUing 
upon au^cla and Buintti departed, worshipping of imaj^ea, relies, 

^ftnd croas«M3 ; . . . hia Purgatory, prayers for the dead, praying or 
peakinj; in a stranj^e lun^iia^e; with hie proL-eaaious and bloephe- 
Q0U9 Litany^ and moUitude of advocates and raediaUirs- bia 

[manifold Orders, Auricular ConfeMiou ; , . . his holy water, baptising 
of b^Us, conjuring of Bpirite; , . , his worldly monarchy ^ and wicked 
hierarchy ; his three solemn vowa ; ... hia erroueuua and hloody decrcea 
made at Trent» with all the aube^jribers and approvers oHhat cruel 
and bloody band, conjured agamst the Kirk of Uod. And, finally^ 
we detest all his vain allegories, ritea, sipna^ and traditions brought 
into the Kirk, without or against the Word of God, and doctrine 
of this Inie Rofornied Kirk ; to the which we join ourselves wiliiujfly 
in doctrine* faith, religion, disoiplinOp and Uf^e of the holy Sacra- 
mento, a» lively meiuber» of the isame^ in Christ onr Head: pro- 
fninnfj and Mteearing by th^ grettt namr of the L&rd our God, that 
we alaall continue in the o^>edience of the doctrine and di:*cipliue 
of thia Kirk, and flhall defend the game according to our vocation 

> FromlB^a Ilittory of England^ toL i., p. 512^ 



THB SOLKIOI LBIOQS AHD COTKHANT 37 

and power, all the days of oar life, under the pains contained in 
the Law, and danger both of body and soul in the day of God's 
fearfdl Judgment. And, seeing that many are stirred up by 
Satan and that Roman Antichrist, to promise, swear, subscribe, 
and for a time use the holy Sacraments in the Kirk deceitfully, 
against their own conscience; minding hereby, first under the ex- 
ternal cloak of the religion, to corrupt and subvert secretly God's 
true religion within the Kirk; and afterwards, when time may serve, 
to become open enemies and persecutors of the same, under vain 
hope of the Pope's dispensation, devised against the Word of Gk>d, 
to his greater confusion, and their double condemnation in the 
Day of the Lord Jesus: We, therefore, willing to take away all 
suspicion of hypocrisy, and of such double dealing with God and His 
Kirs, protest, amd ecUl the 8&jroher of ali hsarU for witnen, that 
our fnmdt emd keart$ do fully agree with this our Confestiorij pronUse, 
OATH, and $ub$oriptian ; so that we are not moved for any worldly 
respect, but are persuaded only in our conscience, through thie 
knowledge and love of God's true religion printed in our hearts 
by the Holy Spirit, tu we $hatt antwer to Him m the Day whett the 
Sflcrsit of oil hearte shall be disclosed^ . . . We protest and promise 
solemnly with our hearts, under the same oath, handwriting, and 
pains, uiat we shall defend his [the King's] person and authority 
with our goods, bodies, and lives, in the defence of Christ's Evangel, 
liber^ of our country, ministration of justice, and punishment of 
iniomty, against all enemies within this realm or without, as we 
desure onr God to be a strong and merciful Defender to us, in 
the day of our death, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: To 
Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and 
glory eternally. Amen." ' 

Lennox was not the only Romanist in disguise who 
treacherously signed this Confession of Faith. Lord Seton 
was another. He had rendered special service to liie Church 
of Rome before this period, and he continued those services 
to the end of his life. A year after the event just recorded, 
a priest, who was a political emissary of the Jesuits to 
Scotland, reporting his work to Cardinal Allen, remarked: 
**We celebrated [Mass] daily, and preached daring the 
Chnstmas season in the house of Lord Seton, the greater 
part of his household, which is very numerous, being present/* ' 
Lord Seton, writing on March 14th, 1584, to Pope Ore- 
gory Xin., was not ashamed to boast of his services to the 

1 Row'i Hiaicrie of the Kirk of SeotUmd, pp. 74—77. Edinburgh: Woodrow 
Socictj. 

s Nmmaip€$ of ScoUish C^ahoHa, p. 178. 



S8 



TH« JBStnrS \S GftClT BRITilK 



Cliurch of Rome. "^"I need uot explain to jour Holine^e," 
W wrote, **the part which I have taken in defending the 
Catholic religion, and the authoritj of the Supreme Pontiff, 
for 1 woiild rather leave this io others/'' Did his lord- 
ship, wo mar well aak, in his own mind, include the 
aignature of the Pn-shyterian Confession of Faith, aa amongst 
tho sftrvicea he had rendered t^> the Papacy? 

The progress to power of the Koyal farourite was rapid, 
and the eril deed of January 28th, 1581, helped on hi» 
political acbemeH. He was first, as we have seen, created 
Earl of Lennox, and next made C-hamberlain of Scotlaad. 
Edinburgh Castle was given in charge of one of his supporters. 
Dumbarton was made over to him as an appanage of his 
earldom, and thus he had the key in his hands to open 
Scotland to the French or Spaniards, whenever he was ready 
to receive them. It waa even suggested that he should be 
reeognised ns heir to the Crown, should the Sing die with- 
out issue.* On August 27, 1581, he was proclaimed Duke 
of Lennox* His eril deed of the previous January bad 
enabled him to get rid of the Earl of Morton, hb moat 
formidable rival, who was executed June 2nd, 1581. 

"Tbe denth of Morton was followed/' writee Tytler, *'aa was to 
be exj^ected, by the concentration of the whole power of the 
8tate in the bands of the Earl of Lennox and Captain Stewa-rt, 
now Earl of Arram ThiA tioceaaiLrily led to the revival of the 
influence of Fmnce^ and to renewed, intrigues by the friendi of 
Ih^ OatboUc fnith and the supporters of tho imprteoned Queen 
IMarj Queen of Scots}. The prospecU of the Protet^taiit lord?, 
and of the more zealouis Mtnifltera of the Kirk were proportioniibly 
overclouded; the faction in the interests of England was thrown 
into despair, and reports of the most gloomy kind began to ciri^u^ 
laie through the country," ' 

Towards the end of the summer of 1581, Mendoza, the 
Spanish Ambassador in London, and one of the bitterest 
enemies of England and the Protestant religion, determined 
that, if passible, the Jesuit Plot in Scotland should be 

* Narratiw* of Seattvk CaihafUt, p. 185, 

* Calendar of 5pd»j#A Siai^ P^iper*, toL iii.« p, t1. 

* Tytlar'i Bixioiy t^f Sc»itmd, vol. ir., p. 38. Kdiabarglip 1864. 



TUA80N OP BOMIK CKIEOUQ LOBDB 



39 



worked in the interests of Spain rather than of France, of 
whose influence hath he and hia m&ster, the King of Spain, 
were rery jealous. For this purpose MeiiJoza had severnt 
secret conferences in London with some of the princlpid 
Koman Catholics of England. To them he pointod out thnt 
there was m far greater chance of success for the Eoman 
Catholic cau^e in England and Scotland, if the undertaking 
in that countrj were under the auspices of Spain ratlier 
than those of France, but he was careful at the same time 
to remind them that "" the first step to be taken was to 
bring Scotland to firubmit to the Holy See/^ for this would 
embarrass Queen Elizabeth more than anything else. After 
K great deal of negotiation^ what appears to haT© been a 
aort of committee to represent the other lioman Catholics 
of £agland was formed. It consisted of six English Lords; 
all of them being Spanish in their sympathies. Writing to 
the King of Spain^ on September 7tli, 1581, Mendoza says; — 

"My prppofn] w&a approved of^ And six Lords, wbo are tlie 
leaden and ckiefs of the other dUhoUcs, met for the porpoae of 
oo&eiderinK ii. Doe of them repeiilcd lo the others what I bad 
anid, and urjged that the he^t waj for thpm [in England] to shake 
ofl the ApprMiioa with whi^'h tbey were being aitiicied by the 
hereiice would be to attempt to bring ScotlAnd tcf etubmisGion to 
the Church. Thty took ttilrmn oaiht to aiid (>ach oihf^r. and to 
mukaallT devote thpir peraoTiB and property to the furtherance of 
this end withont informin;^ any living tK)ul of their determi nation 
excepting myself. They decided to tend an Eng)i»h clerfiry&ati 
mh9 if trdHted by &II the £ix, a person of nnder^Undini; who wm 
broQgbt up in ScotUod, to the Scottifih Court, for the purpose, 
after he had mad« himself acquaiot^d with the Ktate of thiogSi 
with tlieir assiHt^ince and recomraendfttioD, to try tv ffft a pricat* 
itUfrvimo teith D'Anhigny, and tell him tbj)t, if the King would 
0a|>imt to the RomAti Catholic Chorch, many of the EngUeh fioblea^ 
and a ST^at part of the population, would at once side with him, 
mod hare him declared heir to the EnirHsh Crown And release 
his mother. He was to assure him that ths hfip o/ Hia HoHneu, 
yotir Hajesty, and it was stippoaed alwa of Ihe King of France^, 
wtnJd be /orlheoming to this end." ' 

The refereoce to help irom France was put io as a matter 
of policy, for Mendoza assurQd his lu&ster Ibat the English 

1 CaitmdMt 9/ J^amUk Sttif I'c^erf, ^tA. li!., p« 170. 



40 



THS JSSUlia IR GliSAT BEtTAtN 



Lords did ** not wish to have arytliing to do wibli France." 
The English priest chosen for this delicate and secret misaion 
was WiUiam Walts, Before he started for Scotland Watts 
received bis instructioua from the notorious Jesuit, Father 
Robert Parsons, who was a prime mover in the conspiracy. 
Parsons told liim what subjects he shoatd Introduce in con« 
rersation with the yoimg King of Scotland, He was to 
request his Majestj to take under hijs protection those 
English Eiotuan Catholics who fled to Scotland, since the 
Romanists were the only persons who favoured his ^5uccession 
to the English Throne* Then he was to dwell upon the 
reasons which ought to incline the King to view Popery 
with favour, and the Prote^staufc heretics in abhorrence, and 
to hold out before him the prospect, not only of the suc- 
cession to the English Throne, but also of the friendship 
of the neighbouring Roman Catholic Princes; the assistance 
of the Rotnanista of both England and Scotland, and especiaUj 
of the priests in recovering Scotland to the Roman Catholic 
Church, which they were ready to undertake even though 
it should coBt their lives. 

With these instructions Father William Watts set off to 
Scotland, accompanied by a servant. Having arrived in that 
country, he was fortunate enough to obtain from John Lord 
Mazwell, a Protestant, a safe conduct in writing to any 
part of Scotland. Watts next went to the "Baron of 
Grencknole '■^ whom he knew to be favourable to the Popish 
cause, though outwardly a Protestant, and to him he opened 
his mind freely, and obtained promises of sympathy and 
aid. At last he reached Edinburgh, where he had interviews 
with Lord Seton (a disguised Romanist) and other noblemen, 
including his son, afterwards known as Chancellor Seton. Lord 
Seton entertained Watts in his own house. These noblemen 
at Inst introduced him to the King, but what transpired at 
the interview has not, so far as I am aware, been published. 
These Scottish noblemen gave this secret emissary promises 
such as satisfied him. Father Watts wrote out a report of 



I 



I 



I 



UP0KT8 OV SICBET tBOSSABlW 41 

his misaion which he forwarded to Father Parsons, who at 
once sent it on to the General of the Jesuits at Rome. 
Watts supplied a list of noblemen favourable to the Popish 
cause. It included D^Aubigny (on whom their hopes mainly 
relied), the Earl of Huntlj, the Earl of Eglinton, the Earl 
of Caithness, Baron Seton, Baron Ogilry, Baron Qray, and 
Baron Femihurst. ^ In writing to the General of his Order 
Parsons sought for his advice, telling him that he entirely 
relied upon his answer for his guidance as to his future 
conduct in the matter. Apparently the answer was satisfac-^ 
tory to Parsons, if we may judge by the fact that he 
continued to be an active worker in the plot. By direction 
of Parsons, Watts prolonged his stay in Scotland, and did 
not retom to London tmtil the following January, when he 
wrote out a second report of his proceedings, and forwarded 
it to Dr. Allen (afterwards Cardinal) who was then staying 
at Rheims. Allen at once sent on the report to the Car- 
dinal of Como, Papal Secretary of State, for the information 
of the Pope, who took the greatest interest in what was 
going on in Scotland. In this document Watt-s stated that 
the Scottish nobles favourable to the plot despaired of success 
without armed aid from abroad. They desired that special 
efforts should be made to bring the King over to the Church 
of Rome, but if these failed "they would th^n get her 
Majesty's [Mary Queen of Scots] licence and permission to 
convey the King, her son, if necessary, to some Catholic 
country, where he could be better instructed in the true 
faith, and trained to the duties of sovereignty/* It would 
be well, they thought, if a marriage could he arranged 
between the King and the daughter of the King of Spain. 
The King of Scotland was then only fifteen years old. 

Father William Holt, a Jesuit, was also sent by Parsons 
to Scotland soon after Watts had started for that country, 
and he remained there until the beginning of the following 

> 2fmrrt^9e$ ef SeoUith Caikclict, pp. 160—174. 



42 



THB JESUITS riV GBfAT BKTTIIN 



Lent. On Febmarj 9th, 1582, Mendoaia wrote a lengthy 
letter to the King of Spain^ reporting what took place at 
an interview which lie had just hfvd witb Father Holt m 
London, after his arriYnl from Scotland. Holt told the 
Spanish Ambassador tliat on bis arrival in Eiiinburgh, be, 
like Father Watte, was received **by the principal Lords and 
CounriHors of the King, particularly the Duke of Lennox 
[Aubi|rnyJ, the Earls of Huntly, Ej^linton^ Argyll, Caithness, 
and other p«rsonages^ who are desirous of bringing the 
country to submit to our Holy Catholic Faith. '^ These 
noblemen had unanimously pledged themselves to adopt 
four means of obtaining their object. First, to endeavour fl 
to indnce their King to become a Roman Catholic ; secondly, 
they would try and obtain, if necessary, the permission of ^ 
the King's mother, that ** if he be not converted, he should ^ 
be forced to open his eyea and hear the' truth j*^' thirdly, if 
his mother thought it necessary *^they would transport him 
out of the Kingdom to a place that she might indicate;*' 
and fourthly, "aa a last resource they would depose the 
Xing'* until his mother had escaped from captivity and had 
arrived in Scotland, "unless he would consent to become a 
Catholic/' One way to forward these expedients was, they 
suggested, for some foreign sovereign to support Ihem with 
troopa, of whom they supposed 2000 would be sufficient for 
their purpose. They did not intend to apply for help to 
P>ancB for these troops* but they had appealed to Mary Queen 
of Scots, whose personal intercession would, they believed, 
** prevail upon the Pope *' and the King of Spain to help 
them. If the soldiers were sent, these Scottish noblemen, 
"would undertake to convert the country to the Catholic 
faith, and to bring it to submit to the Pope/' To prevent 
the jealouFy of the French they thought it would be best 
were the King of Spain to send, under the name of the 
Pope, Italian rather than Spanish soldiers to Scotland. ^ 



CAitmdmr €>/ S^^msA State Fmtrt, vol. iiL, 2S&— £69. 



THE Pontes sacBBt nnssA&T 48 

Mftiy Qneen of Scots was made acquainted with this 
aiifblly contrired plot, and gave it her heartj approval and 
asaistance. To facilitate matters she was willing to give 
np her claim to he the only Sovereign of Scotland, and to 
asBoeiate the name of her son with her own as joint Sot- 
ereigns of the land. But this association with her son 
would entirely depend upon his becoming a Roman Catholic, 
and she held herself free at any time to withdraw from 
aasociation with him, provided she had come to the decision 
that his perversion was hopeless; in which case* she would 
resume her claim to be the Queen of Scotland, and heiress 
to the throne of England. She wrote to Hendoza on the 
subject a letter in which she expressed the opinion that 
tiie Duke of Lennox, " though he has joined ttUh the kereHes 
m order hy diseimuhUion to strengthen his posiiiony* would 
not be blind to the advantage of helping the King by any 
means. ' 

At about this period the Pope, anxious for further informa- 
tion for hia personal guidance, sent an emissary of his own 
to Scotland. He selected for the miBsion Father William 
Creighton^ a Scotch Jesuit, who also went with the approba- 
tion of the King of Spain, the bloodthirsty Duke of Guise, 
and Father Parsons. Before starting on his journey, Creigh- 
ton, in company with Parsons, had an interview at £u, 
towards the end of January, with the Duke of Ouise, *^ about 
the advancement of the Catholic cause in both realms of 
England and Scotland, and for the delivery of the Queen 
of Scots, then prisoner.'* * Creighton arrived in Scotland in 
the beginning of Lent^ 1582, and left the country on his 
retom to the Continent towards the end of March. His 
account of his visit to Scotland was subsequently written 
for the purpose of being preserved in the archives of the 
Jesuits at Home. From this report I take the following 
extract, in which the real sentiments of Lennox towards the 

> Cmimd^ of SptnUh St*U Papers, to), iii., p. 290. 
' Kaoi'ft Rieordt of tmglUk Cathoiiett toI. ii., p. uit. 



u 



THE JSSUITa IN OBUT BKirJJM 



religioii of Ronie come out ia their true and natural colours. 
The italics are mine. 

"Al the time of his arrival," wrote Crelijbton of hiraaelf, "only 
one of the membenf of the Royal Council. L(jrd Seton, refnained 
coEiBtant to hiH reliiinoD. This nobleman willingly received Fr. 
Creifi^hLon into his hoiiee, and treated him with kindneeeaDd fpspecL 
All the others had subscribed to the heretical Confession of Faith, ^ 
throuifh fear of the tyratiDv of tho&e who had seized upon the govern- 
juent, and esipeeialiy of the heretical preachers. The leuardian of lh« 
youni? Kias. then still a minor, was hia cousin, the Duke of Leunoz. 
Fr. Creiirhton considered it best to euter into corraspondenca with 
this nobleman, whom h€ knew to he a Catholic tti heart, o^tifwvph cetet" 
^Uilly compiyifig in every rfspfct ipith the rfquir&nt^ttj of the Minister*; 
and it wd.g i)ot without ^eat difhoiiUy that he obtained sin itit«rview 
with Lennox, for ho had to be introduced into the Kinja^'g p^looo 
at nigbt, and hidden durinj; three daye in a secret chamber. The 
Jhikfl proniisetl that A* u'outd have the King inatrueted in th^ CeUholio 
Telt^on, or eUe (conveyed abroad, in order to be able to embraoe 
it with more freedom. To secure this conceesion, he made some 
on hie side, chiefly of a pe<.''uninry nature; and auch afi seemed 
very inai^nificaut when compared with the object in view- The 
arttot60 of this agreement were drawn up by Fr. Oreigbtonp and 
Bigned by the Duke'8 hand in evidf^nce of his a«aent to il, so that 
the Pope, then Gregory Xllf., mi^ht poaaeaa in the Duke^a hand- 
writing a proof of Uie accuracy of Ft. CreiKhlon'a verbal atatement. 
Armed with thie dof^uraeni. Father CreiKbton at once croat^ed over 
to France, and arrived in Paria, where the Duke of Ouij»e^-tha 
Kinj^fl relative, the Archbishop of Glaa^ovv, Father Tyrie, * and the 
Other Scotchmat), all considered the Catholic cauise as f^ood aa gained. ' 

On Father Creighton's return to France be commimicated 
the results of his Scottish visit to the Archbishop of Glas- 
gow, Dr. Allen (subsequentlj Cardinal Allen), the Duke of 
Quise, Father Parsons, and to the agent of the King of Spain. 

**Tb© greater part of April and May wiu/* writes the late Father 
Knox, ^epent in diactissin); this deai)^, and rmally, at a tneetinf; 
held in Faris^ at which» l>eaidca those already ineulioned, F. Claudie 
Mathieu, Provincial of the Jesuits in France and Confesi^or to thd 
Boke of Ginso, wa8 present, a plan was definitely deoided upon, 
and F. Creighton wa^a deputed to take it to the Pope at Uome, 
arid F. Parsons to Philip 11. at LiHbon^ where the King waa Ibeai 
residing." * 

1 And to. II we hive woo, bad Lord Sct^o tlio. 

' Fnlhcr Tjn* ftlco wna H Jnuil pnW. 

* SaftatineM of Seat tU A VaihoUet, pp. HI, IflS* 

< lLQQi*t Mtfvrd* of E^glUk CtttMiet, vol. ii., p. lUiL 



I 



8BCBBT CONFI&ENCB IN PlIUS 45 

TaBsia, the Spanish Ambassador to France, took part in 
these conferences, and on May 29th wrote about them to 
his master, the King of Spain. 

"The Duke of Guise/' wrote Taasis from Paris, "baa arriyed, and 
oonferred at lenf^h with the priests, after which they summoned me 
aS night to the Scots Ambassador's house. The Duke of Quise in- 
formeid me of his great desire to i>ersonAlly participate in so im- 
portant an affair, with the sole object I have mentioned, and 
the plan of execution was subsequently discussed. His opinion 
was that His Holiness should have the enterprise carried out 
entirely in his name, and should announce that the destination 
of the expedition was to be Barbary. ... The priests aubsequently 
infonnea me that the principal reason why he (Quiae^ advocated 
(his course was the oath he took when he received the Order of 
the Holy Ghost, not to employ himself in favour of any foreign 
Prince without the consent of his Sovereign, and he thmks that 
if he is engaged in this enterprise with forces belonging to your 
Majesty be might he breaking this oath. The priests, however, 
say that tliey hsve satisfied him upon the point, and have shown 
him that he may do so with a perfectly clear conscience, so that 
he is now resolved to take part in the affair in whatever form His 
Holinen and your Majesty may consider advisable." > 

In other words, under Jesuit guidance, the Duke decided 
to break his solemn oath, in order that he might do good 
to the Boman Catholic faith in Scotland and England. 

The object of the visits of these two Jesuits to Borne 
and Lisbon respectively was to obtain a strong military 
force to guard the King of Scotland and the Duke of 
Lennox, and to provide a Boman Catholic bride for the 
King, by whose means it was expected to make his secession 
to Bomanism secure. The Pope approved of the design, 
took it up warmly, and subscribed four thousand gold 
crowns. He also wrote to Philip II. urging him to help a 
cause which so greatly interested all Christian people. In 
response, Philip gave twelve thousand gold crowns, promising 
the same amount every year, and more if necessary. ' 

A great deal of the correspondence of those who took 
part in this treacherous conspiracy was published in London 

> CmiemJar of SpamuA State Papers, vol. iii., pp. 377, 378. 
s Itmrmihet of SeoUUk Cathoiin, p. 188. 



46 



THE JESUITS IB QfiXAT BRITAIK 



in 1882, in the second Tolume of the Secordit of English 
Caf holies. From that book we learn that after the delibera- 
tions of the conspirators had for the time concluded^ the 
Papal Nuncio at Paris wrote a lengthy report of the pro- 
ceedings to the Papal Secretary of State, for the informatioa ■ 
of the Pope. The design in hand, he informed the Secretary, 
must be arranged in all particulars by the Dul^e of Guise. 
Father Robert Parsons had said that 6000 footmen were 
sufficient for Scotland, and that after their work was done 
they could pass over to England, so as to bring back two 
Kingdoms to the Church of Rome. "Moreover/' continued 
the Nuncio, **at the proper time the principal Catholics in 
England will receive information of the affair by means 
of the priests. But this will not be done until just before 
the commencement of the enterprise, for fear of ite becoming 
known; since the ^oul of this afiair is its secrecy/* The 
Nuncio concluded the letter thtts;-^ "It seems to me that 
this enterprise is so honourable and useful to the Church 
of God that nothing, I believe* could be undertaken or , 
CTen imagined greater or more fruitful ; and I cannot do other- 
wise than entreat your moat reverend lordship to animat 
our Lord (the Pope) to this enterprise^ which is worthy 
Christs Yicar/' * 

Before he wrote the aboTe letter the Knncio had received 
a visit from Parsons, who placed in his hands a memoran-- 
dum, in which he offered *Sn the name of all the Catholics 
of England, their life, their goods, and all that lies within 
their power for the service of God and his Holiness in this 
enterprise.'* Two years later, when Father CreJghton was 
arrested by the Englifsh Government, the plan of this Tery 
enterprise was found upon him. In this plan it was stated that 

''The f^at and rich cities for tbe Dioat part aa Newcastle, York» 
and auch like, are all fnU of Catholics^ who will repair to tlM 
[itiTadiugj army, bo &« they »hall l»e victorious without drawiujc 
Bword; and all the Catholic lords and gentlemen of those shires wiU i 



xh 
Br- J 



^ E.Mi't BewrA c/ English Caik^tiet^ vol. Ii.« pp. ils^ tlii. 



TBI rO?l! 0BS1ASS TEC AID OF LEKHOX 47 

unite th^mselvea unto them: vhieh we toy not by etmjecture, but 
httnw euttmrediy that ihty h^I (in t/, although they dare not trtiat 
Anybody m the world bnt only th^ir pri^AU, wko art already disperaed 
ikto^houi €tU the thireg of the realm,*' ' 

Tbe special object of the enterprise was Bftid to be tb« 
deposition of Queen Elizabeth, and the setting up of the 
Scottish Queen in her room. The plan further provided 
that on the entry of the invading army into England, all 
those who should bear arms in defence of Queen Elizabeth, 
should be treated aa '* guilty of trtcasonr and ahBll be held 
for sQcht unless thej come to join with the armj of the 
Scottish Queen in England by mch a certain day, and they 
shall not only lose their lives^ but al»o all their pOBsessions, 
lordsbipe, and lands, shall be given to the next of their 
blood/^ Here we see what was, and ever has been, tbe 
true attitude of the Jesuits towards civil and religious liberty* 
Had they iucceeded in their echeme, every Froteatant who 
reaiflted them, aye, and every loyal Roman Catholic also, 
would have been put to death! 

Father Creighkon, on leaving Scotland, was the bearer 
of a letter from the Duke of Lennoi himself lo Tassis^ the 
Spanish agent at the French Court, The letter is well 
worth citing here, 

"Blr," wrote Lennox, "the bearer of this. William Creighton, a 
Jesuit, hjia come here and told me that he has brirn smt io me by 
ik4 Pop# and the King of Spiuti^ y*>ii^ Kin^* ami he has hrought 
me a letter of credence from the Ambassador of Bcotland to the 
effect that i nhoald put trust m what he atmll say to me. After 
bim th^re am red i&iioLher Jeauit, an Engliahniitn jK, William 
HoR]» brin^in^ me a letter from the Ambasfiador your King haa 
in Lrf^cdoD [Don Bernardino do Mcnd07.aJ« v^nd whi> in iMMijunctioD 
with th^ Popf dctires^ a/e it aeeini to me, to iw« my fiervicet in 
the d«ei|ni which Ihey have in hand for thf rentoratum of the 
CaikoUc rtligion atid the liberation of the Queen of Scolland, 
•coordlog to what the afores^aid Creighton related to me. As I 
b«i»ev« thai this «nterpn«iti is undertaken for the guod and pt«- 
iervalion of the Queen of Scotland and tbe Kiii^ her aun, and 
Ihai hia crown will ha maintained and supported* 1 atn ready, 
fHib Uhe oonaent of the Queen hia mother, to devote my life and 



48 



TBI JESUITS m OftEAT BttlTAlF 



?rop«Tty to the execution of the sdid enterprise, on condition that 
am provuiad with all tlioae (hiii^ which are aet down in & 
memorcLnduai which I have given to the bearer to commuDicaCA 
to you*" 1 

I 
The ** memorandam ** to which the Duke of Lenaox here 

refers, required that by the foUowiag autumn twenty thou- 
sand Spanish, ItaiiaDf German, and Swiss soldiers should 
be landed in Scotland, with plenty of munitions of war; as 
alfto that a larg^e sutn of money should be sent towards the 
expenses of the enterprise; and he names in it the ports 
wliere the troops should be landed* 

On the same day that the Duke of Lennox wrote to 
Tassiflf he wrote also a Bimilar letter to Mary Queen of Scots. 

** H&dam,-*3ince my last letters a Jeeait named WllliAm Creighton 
has come to mo with totters of credence from your Amba^Mdor. 
He informa nae that the Pope «iid the Catholic King hrid de<!ided 
to fluccoiir you with an army, for the purpose of re-establishing 
reHgion in thia ialand, yoof deliveranee from captivity, and the 
preservAtion of your right to the Crown of Enji^land. He sAyn 
that it ha^ Ix-^n proposed that I f^hould be the head of theuaidarmy. 
Since then, I have received a letter from the Spfmish Ambaaaiidor 
r^ident in London to the eanie effect, through another Enxhah 
Jeuult. For my own part, Mad^m, if it be your will that anything 
should be done, and that I ahould undertake it, I will do ao, aud 
am in bonea that, if promises are fulfilled, and the English 
Caibolica also keep their word, the enterprise may be carried to a 
Buccefisful isjaue, and I will deliver you out of your captivity or 
loee my life in the attempts I therefore humbly be|: you to inform 
me of your wiehaa on the matter, through the Spanish AmbaaBador 
in Ix>ndon, with all speed, and 1 will follow your instructions if 
you approve of the enterpriee, As poon as I receive your rep!y 
I will ^o to France with all diligence for the purpoee of rajEfing 
some French infantry^ and receiving the foreig^n troops and lending 
them to Scotland*" * 

No one who reads the letters of Queen Sfary, published 
in the third volume of the Calendar of Spanish State Papers^ 
can doubt that she took a very decitled part in furthering 
thia Papal and Jesuit plot, of which she heartily approved, 
¥et when, two years later, she was charged by Mr. Somner, 
Secretary to Sir Ralph Sadler, with having taken a part 

^ Knox^i BMOtdi «/ Emfluh UaUioiUt. vol. ii., p. nxv. 
* C^kttdar v/ ^anitJk Sttie Ftipera, vol. iii., p. SIS. 



I 



t 



[ 



BIPOBT OF JtSUlT EHlSaABIES 49 

in it, she actually had the daring falsehood to deny it, 
calling Qod to witness the truth of her lying assertions. ^ 
The two Jesuit priests who had been to Scotland about 
the business in hand, had an interriew with Tassis at Paris, 
about the middle of May. The latter wrote at once about 
the subject of the interview to the King of Spain, on 
May 18th, 1582:— 

"Two or three days ago two Jesuit Fathers [Holt and Creigh- 
ton] came to see me, one an Englishman and the other a Scot. 
The latter told me that, more than a year since, he was at Rome 
to attend a meeting or Chapter of his Order, and by command of 
his Qeneral, gave to Uis Holiness an account of the state of affairs 
in Scotland, and the good hopes that existed of success attending 
the attempts to restore the Catholic faith in the country if the 
task were undertaken in earnest. His Holiness liked his discourse 
io much that he sent him hither [to Paris] and gave instructions 
to the Nuncio, and to the 8cots Ambassador here, to consider 
what steps could be taken in the matter, evincing a desire to aid 
it effectually if there seemed to be an appearance of hopefulness. 
The Nuncio and the Ambassador decided to send him to Scotland, 
to inform M. D'Aubigny, Duke of Lennox, a Frenchman and a 
ViwnnfcTi <^ that King, of the Pope's favourable disposition, as he 
(Lennox) had the principle influence over the King and exercised 
neat authority in the country, and was known to be CaihoUe, 
They therefore expected to find him very willing to assist, and 
the Jesuit was ins^ucted to encourage and exhort him to this end, 
bearing a letter of credence from the Ambassador, founded on the 
Pope's instructions. He (the Jesuit) had gone thilher and with 
neat difficulty (seeing the suspicion in which the godly live there) 
nad seen D'Aubigny once, after secret communications had passed 
between them by letter. The interview took place in a castle be- 
kmging to D'Aubigny, whither he had gone on the pretext of other 
boainesa, and another Jesuit, an Englishman and companion 
of the man who came to me, was present. This Englishman 
appesired to arrive at the same time with a similar mission on 
behalf of the English Catholics, and carried a letter of credence 
from Don Bernardino de Mendoza for D'Aubigny. After hearing 
what both of them had to say, lyAvbigny decided to give the sup' 
jport dented by Hit Holiness and your Majesty to the project, if 
he was furnished with the things set forth in a statement which 
be handed to them. ^ 

Parsons also had an interview with the Papal Nuncio in 
Paris, who, on May 22, reported it to the Papal Secretary 

> Sadler'* Siaie FapeT$, rol. iii., pp. 147— U9. 

s CaicMdar of UpsMk isUUi Papers, tuI. tii., p. 870. 



50 



TSS JKStTiTS VH OftUT BftTTiHt 



of State, the CArdinal of Cotno. "I have had,'^ he wrote, 
**m wmt from Father Robert [Parsons], an English Jesuit, 
who appears to me a very prudent man; but as jet I do 
not know of ihe arriral of the Duke of Guise with whom 
the design on hand mtust be arranged in all ii£ particuhLTs^ the 
&atd Father has giren me a memorandmn of which I Bend 
a copy* It is, 1 know, unnecesAarj to say that the Bishop 
alluded to in ihe memorandum ahoiild not be appointed in 
CoQsbtory, since in that way the affair would be easily ■ 
discovered, and therefore I will say nothing about it. This 
Father assumes that 60O0 footmen are sufficient in Scotland, 
to cross ever afterwards into England, but this is a point 
which will be better settled when the Duke comes. The 
expense seems to me small for two such great Princes, 
especially Biaee it will not last for many months, and the I 
gain of bringing back to Chriiit two kingdotna is inestimable, 
and not to attend to this enterprise would drire into the 
extremity of despair the Catholics of both realms, la a 
few days Father Creighton, a Scotchman, who has lately 
returned from Scotlnnd, will go to Rome with s full account 
of the state of England and Scotland; and from what I 
know, if these troops can be brought on a sudden to Scot-* 
hind, and go thence likewise on a sudden to England, it 
seisms to me that the affair i& most easy."^ ^ 

This great Jesuit conspiracy against two nations, Ei^^laod 
and Scotland, depejided for its success mainly on the con- 
tinuance of the Duke of Lennox in power in the latter 
country, while, in its turn, his continuance in power depended 
entirely on the fact of his adherence to Romanism remaining 
a profound secret, Lennox had used the power entrusted 
to him in persecuting the Presbyterian ministers, and is 
forcing the Episcopal system on tiie Church of Scotland* 
The ministers were not blind to the dangei^ that surrounded 
them. At this period, says Dr* M'Che, the King 



I 



I lUfordt of Fn^itsA CiJiA&tift, Vt4. ii,, pp. xl, llL 



i 1U»T4L DBCLABATIOV 



51 



'^fell into ihe handa of two unpri&eipl^ emirtiera, fcbe one a IVench- 
raaOt whcnn h« mi4« Uae Duke nf LeniMnL; »ad tlM oUii«r, one 
CspUia SUwkH, a BokirioKii prQfti|^&t«» who aftftrwarda becAina 
Barl of Arr&ti. Theso nea, b«aid«e jMUutiftg hia laoi^a, Wed hU 
ho&xi with the moet «itravajciiit iitf^oaB of £lQ$!ly pjower^ Aud tb<B 
Btfoaf«st prejadieea agaiDst the ScotttfiL Cburoh« th« strict di&eiplioo 
of which, for obvious reuoosy wM pesali&rif oboQxt^ua t« p«re«u£ 
Of aoch characters" ' 

It is no wonder that the ministers were dissatisfied with 
the existing sta^« of things, and eartiestlj desired that such 
daogeroua counsellors and unpfincipled s<;oundreIs should be 
removed ^m the person of the King, who was stiil a mere 
boj of barely sucteea ye&rs of age. Their diasatiufactiou 
was shared bj many of the Protestant noblemen and gentry, 
who ceutd Bot view without serious alarm, the probability 
of the loss of the citiI and religious liberties of the country. 
That alarm was in no way lessened by a Declaration issued 
in the name of the King, though, no doubt, at the instiga- 
tion of Lennox himself. It was dated July 12, 1583^ and 
concluded as follows : — 

"And hecaoae it ie come to our knowledf;e Ihat, by the said 
distarbera o/ our common peace, rumoura are i>uhli«beJ tlmt our 
dear coueiu Kame. now Duke of Lennox etc,, should be a cniin^ellor 
and deviiwr to iia in the premittca presently, oi ihe erectiug of 
ri4l*j:itry, and aboli^hiuE of the true reiii^on, whk-h he hath eul)- 
HiTilM*d with his hfind, iworn in the pr©*4?nce ofGod^approveti widi 
lit*' boly at-iion of ihe T-^rd'a Tuble, like as he is ready lo seal the 
nnfuo wiih his blond. We, therefor©, with fldvice of our Lords* of 
the SocT^t C-ouncil Afore*aid, hivve thought expe^lient to publish 
In nU our fftilhtui subjeclB, the malicious falsehood of theJr (?»ilum- 
nivn biid and published agaitwt our eaid couftin, h\3 faithful and 
coa8(»uit stiidinjs: iu the trae religion of Christ profeeeed within this 
nur realm, his Hutifiil obedience to us, out authority an rl Inws. hi&t^aro 
and diligence in the preservation of otir porflou, with all other 
vimieo required in a true counaellor and obMient aubje<*t. That 
aome of you, our faithful »abj*cta, be movt?d or aniniftl^d agaicst 
ear said eoufliu, by th« fal&e bruit« givon out by such geditiou« 
penons, eaemiea to our iaid cousin, or others our faithful coun- 
eaUon» .. . and we ch^u^e you «traitly and commAnd that, forth* 
witb, these our letters i<een, je pase to the Market Cross of all 
boroaghs, and to all rarieb Kirks within our realm, and there 
by open proclamution, make publication and intimaLiou hereof, 
IhaK Done pretend ignorance of the same," * 

> M'Oi*^ Sk<lcJk4S of StouUk CAveX Uufoff, p, IDS, «d. lUl, 
* Cai4<rwiMd « Sitt^fy* ^1- hi>, p. 1S$, 



52 



THE Jssarra ra okiat BsiTAtir 



The Royal Proclamationj however, failed to allay the 
deep-sealGil sjspicions that bad been aroused as to tho 
Jtidtiitical duaigns of Lennox^ but for a while it waa found 
difficult to discover a remedy for the esistiog state of affairs. 
At length a succeasful plan was devised, wlut:h eSectuallj 
checked the schemes of the Pope, Jesuits, and Duke of 
Guise, On the 28th of August, 1582, several of the Pro- 
testant noble meu came to the King at Perth, and invited 
him to pay a visit to Ruthven Castle^ where, for a time, 
he was detained* no doubt against his will This plan was 
afterwards known as the Itaid of Kuthven. The next day 
a supplication was addressed to him by the Protestant nohle- 
men and gentlemen, in which the reasons were given for 
thair action, and a statement of grievances was exhibited. 
As this document contains a remarkable record of the per- 
secutions initiated by Lennox again.st the Chui'ch of Scotland, 
and of his Jesuitical plot io bring back the power of the Pope, 
it may be well to reproduce it here. It k aa follows: — 



I 



I 



*'It miiy seem strauKe unto your Hj^lmesB that we, your Mdiesty'A 
moBt humble and obeilient sutj&cLa, are l^ere convened beyvnd your 
HItihnesa'a expectation. But after your Grace bath heard the 
urgent occtuions that have pressed ua thereunto, your Majesty 
will not mFLTvel at this our honest, lawful, uec-easary, and most 
grodly enterprise. Sir, for the dutiful reverence and obedience we 
i»we iQ yoMx Hi^hneiia, and for that we ever abhorred to attempt 
anything [that] mi^ht seem unpleaaant to your Excellency, we 
havd sneered now about the apace of two yefirs such fahe agcusa. 
tiona, CAlumniwjs, opprefriiona aiul pera^cutiona, by raeaua of the 
Duke of Lennox, and him who is called Earl of Arran, that the like 
of their ini^olonces and enormities were never heretofore borne with 
in Scotland. Which wrongs, albeit they were luoet intolerable, j'et for 
that they only touched us in particular, we bore them patiently, 
ever attending when your Hi^hne(?a should put remedy thereto* 

"But noWj seeing the periiona aforesaid have ei^tered plainly to 
trouble the whole body of this Commoti wealth, as ^'ell Miutstera 
of the blessed Evaupel, as the true professors thereof ; but in special, 
that number of noblemen. Barons, burgesses* and community, that 
did most worthily in your Highneae' nervice during your youth; 
whom priuoipally and only they molest, and against whom only 
tiiey u&e moat rigour and extremity of laws, acts, practices, for 
greater vindication, so that a part of these your beat subjects ie 
exiled, another i^art tormented, put to queatiouBr and with partiality 
executed; and if any eacflpe their barbaroua ftuy, yet have no 



I 



BITPPUCITION or TBI PBOTUTANT LOBDS 53 

mcceM to your Majesty, but are falsely calumniated, minaased, 
debarred your presence, and kept out of your favour. Papists, and 
the most notable murderers of your father and Regents, are daily 
called home, restored to their former honours and heritages, and 
oftentimes highly rewarded with offices, places, and possessions of 
your most faithful servants. Finally, 8ir, your Estate Royal is 
not governed by the counsel of your nobility, as your znoet worthy 
progenitors used to do, but at the pleasure of the persons afore- 
said, who enterprised nothing, but as they received directions 
from the Bishops of Glasgow and Ross, your denounced rebels; 
having with them joined in their ordinary Councils, the Pope's 
l^UDcio, the Ambasaadcnv of Spain, and such other of the Catholic 
Papists in France, as ever laboured to subvert the true religion, 
to spoil yon of your Crown. With these persons, and with your 
mother, without advice of your Estates, they travelled to cause 
jouT Majesty [to] negotiate and traffic, persuading your Highness 
u> be reconciled with her, and to associate her conjunctly with 
you in your authority. Thirdly, meaning nothing but to convict 
them of usurpation, conspiracy, and treason, that served your 
Highness most faithfully in your youth. And so, having these 
your best subjects out of the way, who, with the defence of your 
innocency, maintained the purity of religion, as two actions united 
and inseparable, what else could have ensued and followed, but 
the wreck both of the one and the other? 

**For conclusion, by their practices, the whole country (for which, 
8ir, jrou must give account to our Eternal Qod, because we must 
be answerable to your Excellency) is so perturbed, altered and 
pot oat of frame, that the true religion, the commonweal, your 
Crown, Estate, and person, is no less in danger than when you 
were delivered forth out of the hands of the murderer of your 
father. Sir, beholding these dangers to be imminent and at hand, 
without speedy help, and seeing your most noble person is in 
such hazard, the preservation whereof is more precious to us than 
our own lives; seeing also no appearance that your Majesty was 
forewarned thereof, but like to perish before you could perceive 
peril, we thought we could not be answerable to God, neither be 
mithful subjects to your Highness, if, after our ability, we prevented 
not these pitiful disasters, and preserved your Majesty from the 
same. For this effect, with all dutiful humility and obedience. 
we, your Majesty's true subjects, are here convened; desiring your 
Majesty, in the name of the Eternal God, and for the love you 
bear to His true religion, your country and subjects, that as you 
would the tranquillity of your own estate, to retire yourself to 
such a part of your country, where your Majesty's peri*on may be 
most surely preserved, and your nobility; where, under peril of 
our lands, lives, and heritages, your Majesty shall Hee the disloyalty, 
falsehoods, and treasons, of the persons aforesaid, with their ac- 
complices, evidently proven and declared in theirfaces ; to the glory of 
Ood, advancement of His true religion,your Majesty's preservation, 
honour and deliverance, pacifying ot'your disturbed commonweal and 
country, and to their perpetual ignominy, infamy and shame." * 

> Calderwood*t Hutory, vol iii., pp. 637—40. 



54 



TEI JISTTITS IK OEEAT BBITAIH 



The truthfaliifss of this SuppUcatioa cannot bo denied. 

It was followed shortly after by the publicfttion ai Stirling 
of a pamphlet, entitled, "A Declaration of the Just aad 
Nece&aary Causes Moting us of the NobilitY, and others the 
Kiog^s faithful subjects, to repair to His Highnesses presence, 
and to remain with Him, for Resisting the Present Dangers 
appearing to God's true Religion and Professors Thereof, 
and to His Highnesa's own Person^ Estate, and Cro?m and 
his faithful Subjects that have constantly continued in His 
Obedience; and to Seek Redress and Reformation of the 
abuse and confuaion of the CommonweaUb, removing from 
His Majesty the chief Authors Thereof, while the Truth of 
the same may be made manifefit to His Highnesses Estates, 
that with common consent Redress and Remedy may be 
ProTided." ^ This document contains a startling and lengthy 
list of grievances, and of evils inflicted on loyal and Pro- 
testant Scotsmen during the time the Duke of Lennox had 
been in power. Justice had been trampled under foot^ the 
Kitig^s morals had been corrupted by harlots introduced to 
him by hia evil counsellors* The document eiposed to the 
light of day the machinations of the Papal party, so far 
as they were then known, affirming, amongst other points, 
that ** Daily intelligence was between their men that governed 
the Ei n g's person and th e Pap is Ls , bo th i n Fran ce and 
England; and some of the English fugitives, being Papists, 
harboured and entertained very near the King's Majesty's 
person for the time. The special names of £^uch of the 
aobility, officers, and of the King'^s true servants that were 
destined for the massacre, were in all men's mouths, and 
nothing remained but the execution, since the authors of 
the like in Fraoce [the reference is to the St, Bartholomew 
Massacre] hud obtained place and credit in Scotland/^ 

In the face of opposition like thiB the Dul^e of Lennox 
lacked the courage necessary in a snccessfiil leader. "In 

' The document » printed in CtJd«rwo«d*i HUtorf of tk€ Kkk of ScoUamA, 
v«L iiLp pp. 051 — fiOfr, 



uniox Boms or ns raonrrivmH 55 

emming and adroitness," as Mr. Fronde remarks, "he was 
without a rival. He could take life when there was no 
risk to his own, bnt in the nerrons courage which coold 
fiuse death without flinching he was entirelj deficient. He 
was terrified and longed to fly." ' Had Lennox been eqnal 
to the occasion, says Fronde, " he wonld haTe thrown him- 
self at once at the head of all the force which he could raise, 
and haTe flown to the Eing^a rescue. The Ken and the 
Maxwell^s had been preparing the Border maranders for the 
expected iuTasion of England ; many hundreds of them had 
bnt to spring into their saddles to be ready for the field; 
and ererpHiere, eren in the Lothians, there w^e loose 
gentlemen and their retainers who had no love for the 
discipline of the Kirk, and had no wish to see the days of 
Morton come back again. But the confederate Lords were 
less united than they seemed; and the secrecy with which 
Lennox had worked told against him in the soddenness of 
the emergency. He was himself feeble and frightened ; his 
friends had no immediate purpose or rallying-point." 

But though Lennox needed the courage required to 
rescue the young King from the Protestant Lords by force 
of arms, his cunning and powers of lying never failed him. 
He met their "Declaration" by a denial of the charges 
brought against him, and by false professions of his un- 
dying loTe for Protestantism and the Kirk of Scotland. 

•*I protest before God," he declared, "it nerer entered my mind 
to subvert the religion, as it is falsely alleged agaiust me: bat 
since God has ^ren me that grace to embrace it, I have professed 
it, and maintain the same with my heart, as, with the help of 
God, for all the troubles that ever 1 received of the Ministers, by 
the persuasion, calumnie-s, and false information of my evil willers 
and enemies, I shall not desist to maintain and profess the 6aid 
religion ; being assured it is the only true religion. And although 
the said Ministers have opposed themselves in some part against 
me, by reason and their vocation, ^et 1 must grant that the said 
religion is not the worse, but remains good, true, and holy." ' 

> Froidc's 3i4icry of MmghiAd, vol. zu, p. 250. 
' GsUerwood** BUtorjf, toI. Hi., p. 6M. 



56 



THE jeaurra tN oksit behain 



Such a statement, had it come frtsm an honest mao, 
would hftTO carried weight with it; but coming as it did 
from ono whose eril deeds contradicted his asseriione, it 
was received with incredulity^ and in no way lessened the 
oppoaltion agatust him. To Mary Queen of Scots, howerer, ■ 
he wrote, assuring her that he was but ** dissembling*^* and 
that he wa^ waiting in Dambarton Cattle until he got 
possession again of the King, or, failing this, until toreign 
troops ftrrived. ' 

The Raid of Ruthven destroyed the power of the Duke of 
Lennox; but he remained in Scotland for some months afler 
in the hope that somethiog favourable to his interests might 
take place, According to a *^ Report upon the State of 
Scotland,*' written in 159-i by the Jesuits, and sent to Pope 
Clement VIII., Leunox, in hia difficulty, and 



I 



"Having none to advifie hini^ eent for the Cfltholice, who (being 
ftoquamted with the state of affairs) told him that nothing mom 
uow remninsd to be done than that all of them should take up 
artnaj and they promised that within a few days they could muster 
a. coTisiderahl^ body of troiips. The King, in the ineaDtmie, aeot 
his tetters to Lennox, by which he ordered him to keep quiet, 
for his Hajeaty did not venture to oppose the wishes of hia captors 
in any way, dreading that it would fare the worse with himself 
were he to do so. These orders threw I^ennor into renewed 
agitation. The Catholics, the most of whom by this lime had 
asaemhledj declared that the King's letters were of no value from 
the fact of hie being in the hivnds of Ilis enemies. Once more 
new letters were deppaLched, l<^ the eff*H:it that the King was at 
this time in ^^^at peril of hie life from the parly into who.se hands 
he had fallen, and that he might powsihly be eacrificed if Lennox 
persevered in hta design'*. Even ihie a^'^peal did not move the 
Catholics. The foJlowiug story w:is tuld to Lennox aa having 
happened a few years previously. When King Jame^ V., the father 
of Queen Mary, who died in England, was still a hoy, he was 
detained against his will in Bitrhng Cut^Hc^ by the Earl of Angus 
and several others of the Scotlicsh titibility. The Duke of Albanyp 
who was the King's uncle, laid t*ie\ce to the castle. The uoblea 
wbu held it threutened that tho}' would I'ilpoi^e Ihe King ta th« 
lire of the cannon of the beeiegers. The Duke Md them to do so, 
for he was doterrained that he woutd have the Kingt alive or d^^ad. 
But l^nnox eotdd not l*e iiuUiced by this hi»*tor>% nor by any 
other arguments, to make the altenipW Hence it waa thai a few 
days afterwards there eame ather It^ttera from the King, ordering 



■ CaUndar of SftamtA &tatif fof/^t, vgl, iii.p p, 41S, 



inmOX^B UTIKTJEW WITH ELIZABETH 57 

him to leaye the realm under pain of treason. He yielded to the 
ftdvice of many Gatholica, and returned into France, not without 
^agnce to himaelf, and no less danger to the Catholic religion." ^ 

The Baid of Ruthven was, for the time being, at least, 
successful in its main object, the removal of Lennox from 
the person of the King. Nothing less than the banish- 
ment of Lennox could have preserved the Protestant faith in 
ihat country. Lennox left Scotland, never to return, on 
December 20th, 1582. The first result of his departure was 
the postponement, to a more convenient season, of the 
great enterprise hatched by the Pope and the Jesuits. On 
his way to France, Lennox passed through England, where 
he had an interview with Queen Elizabeth, to whom he 
swore that he was a true Protestant, and had never spoken 
to a Jesuit! So cleverly did he play his part, that even 
a moflem historian, Mr. Tytler, declares that "we have 
every reason to believe his assertions to be sincere.** ' 
Unfortunately, his acts contradicted his professions, and acts 
speak louder than words. Before leaving England, Lennox 
sent his confidential secretary to Mendoza, the Spanish 
ambassador, who thus reported the substance of the inter- 
view which took place, to Philip II.: — 

"The Secretary," wrote Mendoza, *' brought me a letter of credence 
in his ma8ter*8 own handwriting, with two lines of the cipher we had 
used, as a countersign, referring me to the bearer. He told me 
that Lennox had been obliged to Wave Scotland, in the first 
place to comply with the promise which had been given by 
the King to this Queen [Elisabeth], at the instance of the 
oonspirators, to the eflect that the Duke should leave the country. 
In the Jiecond place^ he did so for the King's safety, in con- 
sequence of the failure <»f a certain plot which he, Jjenuox, 
had arranged to rescue the King from the hands of the con- 
spirators, on his coming to the Castle of Blackness. This had 
been divulged by the King's houndsman a day before it was to 
be executed, and, although the number of the J)uke of Lennox's purty 
was superior, it was unadvisable to take the King by force of 
armfl, as the conspirators had the strength of the Queen of England 
behind them .... 

1 TA^ Hitler^ of Mary Siev>art, Edited by the Rev. Joseph Stcveusuu, S.J., 
pp. 187, 138. 

> T^er^ft BitUfT^ of Scotland, toI. iv., p. 38. 



58 



THI JIBUITS m OBBiT BRITJUll 



"T ask«d Ihe Duke^s secretarT ivh«iher Au masUr vouid profet* 

ProifMtantism in Franetf and be aniiwered tliat he had hrfn specially 
in»h-iicfffi to if II me th<iU he would ^ in order (Hat I rjiighi 9%gmfy ti^ 
jiafji« io Hix JIoline99, jour Majef)ty, and the Quoen of Scotland ; 
ttimtTing th^rrr^ thai ht acted thus in di^mniilaiicnj in order to be able IO 
return to BcoLl^nd, as olheriri«e the Ring would not recall hitn, 
and th€ Queen of EngLand would prevent hie return » by means 
of the MiDiflteTfif on the ground that hAwa» a CaiHoHc, as in hit h«ari 
he tftoj. He eaid that he iiould loake thia known al^o to ttie King 
of Frflooe» He assured me that tbo only wav by whicb the King 
could be brought to aubmiiU) the Ciilbolic relijpon would be by forc« 
of arm* and foreign troops, drawing bim on to this with the bait 
of th^ir aid heiof^ necessary for him to succeed to the Throne of 
England, to hia own aggrandiaemeuU" ' 



Lennox left Londoo for Paris & few days after this 
interview, wrth the full intention of carrying on the Jesuit 
Plot more eifectually thaa be could have done had he re- 
mained in Scotland, From France he wrote to Mary Queen of 
Scots, that he intended to return to Scotland with a foreign 
army, where they would be receired into Dumbarton 
Cafitle, by an arrangement which he had made with the 
Captain in charge of the Castle* Haying arrived there, he 
quite expected to CTercome all opposition in a fortnight.* ■ 
But, while man praposeSf Qoi disposes, and the thing which 
Lennox proposed was not to be. Soon after his arriral in 
France he fell ill, and within a short time he died. It 
is aaaerted by Camden^ Spottlswoode, and Tytler^ that he 
died professing himself a Proteatantf bat these writers do 
not produce any eyidenc* in support of their assertiona. 
Could they but have been acquainted with the documents 
relating to Lennox which came to light and were published 
for the 6rst time in the latter half of the nineteenth century, 
they would not, I venture to thmk. have made such a 
statement in such decisive terms. Spottiswoode aays that 
the cause of his death was a fe?er, which he contracted 



i 
I 



on 



his arrival at Paris, '* whereof rt/^r a feic da^s he died;*' ■ 
and he adds that "Some hours before his expiring there 



1 Spanh/i Siaii PtfjMTf, vol iii., pp. 418, 499. 
» IHa., |^. 447. 



LET50I Dm nr tee crubch 07 iohi 59 

cacne to him & priest or two to do their accustomed serrice ; 
whom he could ciot admit, professing to die in the faith of 
the Chiirch of Scotland, and to keep the oath he had giren 
to the King inTiolate." * I think that a man caa scarcely 
he held responsihU for all that he says while suffering from 
fever. The excitement which it produces in the mind fre- 
quently leads men to talk in a manner which their calmer 
judgment would not approve. Lennoic mustf at anj rate, be 
judged by his whole life rather than by his death-bedj for 
e\en if he died really believing in Protestantism, his last 
protestation sent by his secretary to Mendoza, only a few 
montha before, expressed the genuine feelings of his heart 
at that time, and for the whole of hts previous life. His 
one ambition from the time of his arrival in Scotland down 
to within a few days before his death, was to extirpate 
Protestantism in the conntry, by means of the eword and 
donble-dealing, and to rebuild the Church of Rome once 
more on the ruins, For my part I do not beliere that 
L^mox died a Protestants No doubt he kept up his didguiHe 
to the last possible moment; but when he found himself 
iace to face with death he threw off the disguise which 
eoold no longer serve him. The latest lioman Catholic 
historian of the Papal Church in Scotland is fully justified 
in stating that: — 

^'There can be no doubt that Tjennox was throughout Catholic at 
heart; he receive<i Ihe !asl sacraments [i.e. of the Church «f Rome] 
wilh apparent devotion | promised^ if he recovered, to mak^ open 
profeasion of his faith; anJ died in excellent dispositiuns, sittended 
by and in the presence of the goud Archhijjhop of Glasgow*'* * 

Here we may well pause to ask» "Do&s History repeat 
itself?^' Can we, in this twentieth century, say with justice: 
^Tbat which hath been is now; and tbat which is to 
he bath already been*' (E^ccles. iii., 15)? When we look 

* SpoClkvooda'i BiHoff of tU Ckwr^k of SceUami to^l. ii., p. S9S. 

• BvUnlwB'i ffUhrf cf tJ^ CoiMpik Chmrtk </ Scoiitmt, raL iii., p. 379. 



60 



THE JESUITS IN 0B8AT BRlTAtB 



around on what 13 going on in the English political world, 

and see leading atateamen, of both political parties, striving 
one with the other as to who sliall give th« greatei^t amount 
of honour^ promotion^ and political power to the Church of 
Kome in the United Kingdom, is it unreasonable that doubta 
should arise in our hearts? With the stern facts before 
us, which this narrative reveals, can we be blamed if we 
sometimes aak one another occaaionallj the startling question 
— Is secret treachery, duplicitj, and perjury, such as that 
of Lennox^ altogether unknown among our own statesmen? 
We are not to he cried down as alarmists, or as autJering 
from *' Jesuitism on the brain," because these questions arise 
in our minds. The history of Esrae Stuart, Duke of LennoZf 
has ita lessons for the subjects of Edward VIL, as much as 
it had for the men of the sixteenth century. If the Jesuita 
tacitly sanctioned and encouraged Lennox's infamous conduct 
then, who can affirm that they are not adopting a similar 
policy now, for their own selfish and disloyal ends? Wa 
certainly need to be watchful, and ever on the guard, not 
only againafc the open and avowed enemies of our Protestant 
constitution^ but also against traitorous foes secretly working 
under false colours. 



I 
I 



CHAPTER III 



AN ASSASSINATION PLOT— A JESUIT PRIEST LORD 
CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND 



Soon after the death of Campian, his companion, Robert 
Parsons, fled from England, never to return. It was no 
longer safe to remain in his natire land, and Parsons was 
not made of the material out of which martyrs are formed. 
He was quite willing to urge others on in a course which 
he knew would imperil their lives, but he shrank back 
from the post of danger for himself. Short of this, how- 
ever, he had unbounded zeal in the prosecution of the 
designs which he had formed within his fertile brain. From 
the moment of his arrival on the Continent until the day 
of his death his chief energies were thrown into the work 
of a traitor to his country. Of Parsons, Father Joseph 
Berington writes:— *' To the intriguing spirit of this man 
(whose whole life was a series of machinations against the 
sovereignty of his country, the succession of its Crown, and 
the interests of the secular clergy of his own faith) were 
1 to ascribe more than half the odium, under which the 
English Catholics laboured through the heavy lapse of two 
centuries, I should only say what has often been said, and 
what as often has been said with truth." ' This testimony 
is confirmed by that of a secular priest who lived in Parsons^ 
own day. '^Father Parsons," writes Father John Mush, 
^*was the principle author, the incentor, and the mover of 
all our garboib at home and abroad. During the short 
space of nearly two years that he spent in England, so 

' Memoin of Pamtrnml, p. 26. 



62 



TBI JBBcrrm m oiSMir bbitaik 



mitch did be irritftte bj his ftciions the mind of the Queen 
ftad ber Ministers tb^i, on thftt occasioo, the Erst serero 
laws were enacted against ibe Ministers of our religion, and those 
who should harbour them. He, like a dastardly eoldier, con- 
sulting his own safety, fled .... Robert Parsons, stationed 
at his case, intrepidly^ meanwhiJe, conducts hi^ operations; 
and we, ivhom the press of battle threatens^ innocent of any 
crLme and ignorantof his dangerous machinations* undergo the 
puniabmcut which bis imprudence and audacity alone merits.^* ' 
One of biie first acbemea into which Parsons threw hitn- 
aalf on bU arrival on the Continent waa that of the Pope, 
the JesoitSf and the Lord Aubigny, (aflerwarda Ouke of 
LetiBOx) for the destruction of Protestantism in Scotland bj 
deception of the most scandalous and disgraceful cbaracterf 
and by force of arms, a full description of which has been 
giren in the prerioua chapter. When that infamous Jesuit 
Plot failed, through the eipulsion and subsequent death of 
Lennox, the Duke of Guisa, who throughout his career bad 
been the willing tool of the Jesuits, threw himself heartily 
into another plot, hating the same ends, but likely to be 
much swifter in its operations. This was nothing less than 
a 7illaim>us scheroe to assassinate Queen Elieabeth — the first 
undertaken under Jesuit auspices. It is remarkable that 
vbile other plots to assassinate EiiKabcth were well known 
to historians, this particular plot was quite unknown until 
1882, when it was first of aU made public by the late 
Father Knox, of the Brompton Oratory, in his Letters and 
Memorials of Cardinal Allen ^ wbieh form the second rolume 
of his Eecords of En fetish Catholics. Father Knox is evidently 
of the opinion, held by Father Ticrney before him, that at 
the time the Jesuit Parsons knew all about this murderous 
plot, while Tiemey is of the opinion that he approved of 
it. Father Tiemey publishes a translation of a portion of 
a letter^ the whole of which, in the original, is printed by 



I 



I 
I 



i 



I 
I 



Memoirs of Ptf^MaU, p. 3&, 



THK ASiiSSlNlTIOH PtOT 68 

Fftther Knoi, as written by P&raons, in 1557^ who, according 
to these modern learned authorities, mistook the date of the 
ertirnt he recorded, giving the je»r 1585, instead of 1583, 

**Th« Queen [M»rj Que<^n of Seoti] wroU to the Duke of 
GniBe" MVB Fan^ons, **\n 1585, direetinjc l^im to keej) a watchful 
ey^ on the proceedings of th^ Joeitits,r na co&n€<?tekd with any plan 
of Spanish luterpojrLitiou : and tftkin^ an opportunitjp at Ibe same 
time, to reprehf^ud the Duke and the Archbiflhop of Glasgow Jbr 
haTiog omitto<l to uipply a certnin imin of money, on ih^peUtion 
of Hor^an and Fi^et, to a cAttain young j^enHetnan in Enel«>nd, 
who, in consideration of tLe rewaidf had proiniMd tliem, so ihey 
peir^UAded het Majesty, i» murdrt tht Qurtft^ o/ hingiitpd. The fact 
wne, that the Duke and tlie Archbishop atiderst4>od that the party 
in queetion (bin name ii^ her^ omitted, bec-atit^ he ifl atiU Living) 
was a wortblew fellow and wouid do nothijjij, as it evenliialiy 
tamed otU: and^ on thift account^ refused to nrovide the money. 
Yet for thie it was that Faget and Morgan induced th« Queen to 
reprehend them/* 

Fftth«r Tierney'a comment on this eitract from the letter 
of Faii»ons is: — '^Can ibis pafit^age admit of any other in ter- 
preitation, than thai the writer himself, and, if we niBj 
beliere his statement, atl the parties here mentioned, approved 
of the design to murder Elizabetb ; tliat Muy was ^ctiv^ely 
engaged in the Bcbeme; and that the Duke and the Arch- 
bishop revised to supply the rewariJ, o«/y Kecause they were 
not assured that the deed would be performed? ^^ ^ The 
particulars of this assassination plot cannot be better related 
than in the words of the Papal Nuncio at Paris, who on 
May 2« 1583, wrote as follows to the I'spal Secretary of 
&taie at Rome: — 

**The Dnke of Gtune and the Duke of Mnycnne have told me 
tbat they have a plan for killing the Queen of England by the 
hand of a Catholic, though not one outwardly, who is near her 
p«raoa and is iU-affi>otod towards her for h^vltig put to death aome 
of his Oftthoiic rdAtioni- This man^ it aecniP, aent word of thta 
to the Queen of Scotland^ hut she refused to attend to iU He waft, 
kowcrrefi sent hitht^r, and they have Agreed to give him, if he 
■a wpwi , or elae his sons, 100^(X)0 fnince, as to which he is^aUafied 
to nave the aecnnty of the Duke ot Qniae for ^),000, and La see 
ItM resi deposited witli the Archbiebop of Oiaegow in a box, of 

■ Tknej'n Jhdd*i f'imrch Miliary, vul iii., pp. lirt.^ itoU. 



u 



TSB JXSU1T9 in (1BXA7 BtlTlCN 



which he will keep a key, bo th&t he or hia sons ra&j receive tbe 
money* ehould the plan succeed, and the Duke thinks it nuiy. 
The Dtika a^ks for no asflist&DC^ from our Lord [the Pope] for 
tbU affair: but when the time comes be will go to il place of 
his near the Be% to awftil the event. And then croas over on ft 
sudden into Euj^land. Aa to putting to death that wicked womAn, 
I ttld to hiin that I will not Arrite About it to our Lord the Pope 
(nor do I *), nor tell your most Hlustrioua Lordship to inform him 
of it; because thaugli I believe our Lord the Pope would be gUd 
thai God should pani^h in any way whatever that enemy of His, 
atlll Lt would be unfitting that Hii» Viciir should procure it by 
these means. The Duke waj satisfied; but later on he added that 
for the enterpmi^ of England, which in this case would be much 
more easy, it will be necesaary to have here in readineaa money 
to enliet some troopfi to follow him. as he intends to enter England 
immediatctyf in order that the CatUoHca may have a head. He 
aakfi foT no aAeisLance for hh passage acroas ; but as the Duke of 
Mayenne muat remain on the Continent to collect some soldJeni 
to follow him (it hein^ probable that the heretics who hold thft 
Ireaaure* the fleet, and the ports^ will not be wauling to themselvea, 
80 that it will he necessary to reai^t them), he widheg that for this 
purpose UK),000 or at leiwt 80,0ik* orowna ahould be ready here, 
I let him know tho a^eeracnt which ihore is between our Lord 
the Pope and the Catholic King with regard to the contribution* 
and I told him that on Our Lord the Pope's part he may count 
on every possible aaai^tance, when the Catholic King does hia 
part* The Agent of Spain believes that his Kinf; will willingly 
give this aid^ and therefore it will t^ welt, in conformity with the 
promised so often made, to eonsider how to provide this sum, 
which will amount to 20.000 crowns from our Lord the Pope, if 
the GathQlic £ing givcd 60,000. God grant th^t with this small 
sum that great kingdom may be gained." = 

It is clear from this letter that the Nuncio did not expect 
any oppuaition to the a^ssassi nation scheme Irom the Pope. 
On the contrary, ho was assured that ** the Pope would be 
glad thnt God should punish in antj watf whatever that 
enemy of His." Aiid when Como, the Cardinal Secretary 
of the State, told the Pope the contents of the Nuncio*a 
letter, Gregory XIIL expressed no disapproval whatever. 
Had he objected to the proposed nmrder, he would have 
ordered the Cardinal Como to write to the Nuncio at Parts 
sternly forhidding the crime, and censuring severely the 

' Hut. fturcl;, writing tu the Popt'd S«erctdr> uf SUle wu p/atiUaitjf iLfi < 
iaia< tbiagl* It v«iild be eertaia ia come to tbc Pope's kuD^>leligi:, u la 
it did. 

^ Ufcordt of BnfiUh CAthotiet, vol. ii., pp« iltri., xivti» 



I 



I 



TEC rOPE AlfD ASSASSIffiTIOK 



65 



TiIljiiLiis who planned it. But the Pope who went in proces- 
sion to St- Peter's to thank God for the bloodthirsty massacre 
of the Preach Huguenots in Paris, in 1572, was not likely 
lo Tiew with disapproval the assassination of a Protestant 
Qaeep. So the Cardinal Secretary of State replied, on May 23, 
to the Nuneio, in the following tertna: — 

**I b»T6 reported to our J^ord the Pope whhi your lordship hu 
writteii to nae in cipher abotit the affaira of England, and gince 
id* H^Uwrn canjioi bui think U good that this kingdom shoulii he 
m aome umy or other relieved &om oppreeaion (ind restored to God 
jmd OUT holy reli^on, Win UoUne^d aaya thnt if^ ih^ Mvnf «/ tko 
maUer being tftct^^ * there ia no doubt that the 80,000 erowna will 
be, AH your lordship ftnya. very well einployed, HU Hotinat ieill 
ikmrtf(fr€ m^ke tw difficulty in paying hit fawrth^ vrben tha time 
oome«, ir the Af^enia of the Catholic King do the flame with their 
three fonithe; and as to this point the Frincea of Gutse should 
make a good and firm agreement with the Catholic Agent on 
the BpoL"« 

The Dnke of 0uise intended that the money contributed 
between them, by the Pope and the King of Spain ^ should 
be partly spent in paying the murderer of Elizabeth. Tassis 
WTotc to the King of Spain on the subject of the Guise 
plot, on May 4, two days after the Nuncio bad written to 
the CardinBd of Como: — 



"It appears to me»" wrote Taaais/'that Hereiiles [Dnke of Guiae], 
•eeinf roaUere in 8cotUnd altered, and with but .^inall prohFibilily 
of promptly adauminfc a position favourable for the plans that had 
been formed, baa now tunied hie eyes towanls tbe English CAtholica, 
lo see whether the ^fTair might not be oonamenced there. He has 
aLrftariy carried the matter so far tbat he ezpecte to have it put 
ifilo execution very ehortly, and infend^ to be present in perscm. 
J» hf i§ nUerinff ink> the f^wtirioti wiih the asfuTai*ce of the mppori 
pf hi* Ilotinet* and your Maji^aty, and in any cHse it ia neceesjary, 
if tha Eaat^r ia to be attempted, that it should proceed on solid 
b—ea, and with a probability of aucceas, he requests tbat hia 
fiolii>e«8 and your Majesty uhould provide 100,00<.^ crowna, to be 
ATaiiabto here instantly when it may be required, aa when the 

1 the ''mBtt«r'' rsferrod to was at caarse tbe uUa) uaatainJiCiffii ofElixabetfa, 
la n«« Uut foul deed w«re veonplUbed, thon the Pojie ihoaght tbat 80,000 
crotrae wvuU i»e "^Tery well eniplojrtd" in oorapletUiif the jilut, bf SBpproiting 
FroiMtoBti*ta u Bui^Uad bj Ibfi tvrufds of foreign Botnan CAthA>Ui:!«« 

f 



66 



TEB JSSUITS [X G&UT B&m.m 



boor Arrives U will he too )»te to obtain it^ and the whole desi^ 
will risk fkUurft, awd ©specially becAUse fee, bowever good Ait 
c^portianitj might preaeat itselff wauld not undertake to efi^ct 
anything without beiug cerUin of tba where wiibal to make a 
coBimebcctnenU He ha« told the Nuncio this And seat tbe same 
iDcesage to lue by tbe Scota Ambassador, with a request that I 
will oonvey tt to your Majesty, and humbly beg for yoor >^iipport. 
I uoderetand that he baa tbe matL«r iii »ach traio aA noar injure 
big succofla, and !□ BDCh cade i^ irou^ be vfry n^c^^ary that he 
9hould ha*« at hand ike fumds for iracaediate watit^. and parti^utariy 
for onfi object which I dare not vrntture ta Tnention A<r^, but wAidh ij 
it ba fffeeUd wiU make a fV{Hae in ths tcorld. and if not, may be 
safely mentioned anotbor time* I bee your Majesty to instruct me 
on the ]>oint, as Hercules [Duke of Guise] is very confident that 
yotir Majesty will not fail nim. and this doubUeas is tbe principal 
reason which impels him to take the matter up. The Nuncio is 
writing to tbe same 69*601 to hia Boliueis.'' ^ 



I 



There can be do question that bj tbe ^*ODe object" 
mentioned in this letter, tbe assassination of Elizabeth was 
intended, for Tasais, writing again to his Master, on June 24, 
expre^ly states: — **Th6 plati which Hercules had in hand, 
as 1 reported to jour Maj*?st; on the 4th May, was an act 
of violence against that lady." ' Not a doubt as to the 
moralitj of the vile act which they planned seems to have 
entered into the heads of anyone of the conspirators, who 
erideutly thought murder of thia kind, when eomnittted in 
the interests of the Church of Rome, a worthy aad pious 
deed! Philip II. wrote on the roargiD of the last cited 
quotation from his agent: — ^' I think w€ understood that 
here. Jf tcould not have been bad if it had been done by 
ihem^ although certain things had to be prorided against. ^^ * ■ 

The plan of assassination fortunately failed, owing appar- 
ently to the lack of courage on the part of the young 
Roman Catholic gentleman who offered to perform the deed. 
Tbe failure need cot astonish us, but what does uierit our 
astonishment, and even our warmest indignation, is an attempt 
to whitewash this wicked assassmation plot pat forward in 
the nineteenth century by Father Knox, who was the first 



1 CslmtUr of Spmnith Simte Piftr*, toL in,^ p, 464. 



WHITBW18fitF0 ASSASeiHATIOIf 67 

to publish its details. ** The Dukea of Guide and Majenne/* 

he stateSf ^* agreed to secure the payment of a large sum 
of money to a person who engaged in return to kill Queen 
Elizabeth. The Archhishop of Glasgow, the Ifuncio to the 
French Courts himself a Bishop, the Cardinal of Conao, th« 
Spanish Agent J^ B. Tassis, Philip II of Spain and perhaps 
the Pope himself, when thej were made aware of the pro- 
ject, did not express the slightest disftpprobation of it, but 
spoka only of the manifest advantage it would he to religion, 
if in &ome way or other the wicked woman were lemoyed 
by death;' 

"They bad/' continues Father Knox, '*no personal animoeity 
Against their intended victim. How eame it then that tiny aavf 
no «>n in a project which, if it were a ain, involved the moot 
pievoua ain of murder? How is it that they ivere ao clear in 
oorD»cienc« ai>oat \i that their words indicate no doubtfulno^, and 
that there is no aign whatever of any attempt to palliate or eixcu&e 
to themsel^ea or otberfi an act which might be dei*irai>le Jor many 
reasons, but waa hiirdly lawful? Sarfity Ihe question i« a ^tave Ooe, 
and needft an answer of some kind. I will now venture to Gugf^eai 
one, which, whether it be the correct account of (.heir motivea or 
not, will at leaat ehow bow these persona, without doing violence 
to their reaaou, or forcinj^ their 0-ouH.cionce, may have juBtified to 
tboooaelree the propo^d act. 

** Let me be^in by putting a poaaibla r^ase. In a country where 
the executive \» powerleM and might prevails DV@r ri^bt, the chief 
of a band of robuers has seiised &n unoQemUug traveller and keeps 
him a cloHe prisoner until he pays for his random a sum which 
it ia quits beyond hia power to olbtain. Now who can deny that 
uoder tbeae circumstances the prlaouer might lawfully kill the 
robber, if by so doinj? he could eifect hia escape? And if ha 
mi^bt do it bimselff anyone, much more a friend and kinaman, 
might do it for him, or he might hire another to do it in his etead. 
The "violecit death of the robber could not in ihla case be justly 

3;»rded aa a murder: it would elmply be the roBuU of an act of 
Mefeoca on the part of the innocent man whom he waa holding 
MpUra. Thii cok aertris to contain ihf solution of the present iliffieuity. . , 
'^Thufl the parallel is complete between tiie bandit chief and 
Quet'D Elizabeth, Both detain with equal iujiiiatice the prisoner 
[Mary l^tieen of Bcot« in Elizabeth's cage] who has fallen into thetr 
handji. Both bav^ the power and the will to murder their prisoner^ 
if circutnfiUuices make it adviaable^ Both prisonera are untible to 
pertaad« their uaptorfi to release them. If then it be uo ^in in 
Um captive, either by hi a own hand or the hand of others, to kill 
the bftudit chief and eo escape, why was it a sin to kill Elizabeth 
and by dotni;: so to save from a lue-lon;? prison and impending 
her heJpleae victim, the Queen of Hoota? // the Ofvi ad i* 



68 



THE JWariE IN OBEiT BKTFAIIT 



a laudable meamire •/ mif'ddwnce^ why u the ether fmmded ^th ihm 
name* of fiutLrder ond nnawmalion f In a word, if thero U no reftl 
disparity between the caaga, irbj thould we not ueethc B&zne wei j^bts 
&na lueta-surea in jud^ng of tbera botbf Sucb may h&ve been 
the r«B6oning of th« Buke of Ooiae and hia ftpproverfi, and on 
Buch groupda thej nuij have iniiinUuned, iiot tinihout plaumbil' 
itif, the lAwfulnesa of an act which iipd^r other circumat&tMWB 
than tbc^ee vhi^ have been deecribed would merit the deepest 
reprobation." ^ 



I 



It is erideiit to tbost who read his comments that Father 
Knox thought there was niofe than *' plausihilitj '* in the 
argumenlv he thus puts iuio the mouths of the would-be 
murd^ers of Queen Elizabeth. Certaiulj he says not ont 
word against their T&liditj. But apparently be was blind 
to the fact thai these arguments would jtistify many other 
assa^uatiom besides the one m queation. Every man in 
a British jail to-day who tbiuka himself made anjustlj a 
priaooar for lif^^ would End them equally valid to justify 
him in murdering hia keeper, if by so doing he conld 
escape from an unjust imprisonment. And if, aa is here 
argued^ there is no siu in hiring a man to do the murder 
for yoa, by paying him a sum of money, does it not follow 
that tiiere is no sin on the part of the man who does the 
eril deed from a mere mercenary motiye? M 

The assassination plot having failed, it was necessary for ■ 
the conspirators to re-organise their plans. Their great 
object was the crushing to death of Protestantism in England 
and Scotland by the swori On June 1 1th the Papal 
Nuncio at Paris reported to the Papal Secretary of State 
thai conferences on the subject were held in hia house at 
Paris, at which, amongst others, the Duke of Suise, the 
Scots Ambassador, and Father Claude Mi&thieu, the ProTincial 
of the French Jesuits, were present. They drew up a 
reTised Plan of Campaign, which was afterwards amended by 
Father Parsons, who was staying at the tone near the 
Kuncio*s residence at St. Cloud, On June 20th the Kundo 



MdCord* of Em^k Catlioliejt, to), ii., pp. iHl-^li. 



ANOTSE& COKSFIB&CT 



69 



'eenl a cop; of the compfl^ted pl&n to Rome. Dr. Allen 
(aflerwarda Cardinal) also wrote to the Papal Secretary of 
Sfcftte, urgmg bim to "admomsb the Holy Father that qow 
was tfa« time for acting, that there had nerer before been 
a Uke opportumty, nor would such a chanee ever recur,** 
Kot content with this, the cotispirators, after a fresh con- 
ference together, decided to send Parsons to Rome on a 
mission to the Pope, for the purpose of seeking his approval 
and active osaiatance, Paraois took with him a paper of 
instructions, which ordered bira to tell the Pope, with the 
utmost minateness ail that had been prepared by the traitors 
residing in England for the good succesa and happy result 
of the proposed enterpriae. The conspirators at Paris, after 
considering adTicea from the discontented Lords of the King- 
dom, and also a letter from Mary Queen of Scote, informing 
them that " ihings are Tery well prepared especially towards 
the border of Scotland, where the expedition from Spain 
woold I&z»l/* had at leagth resolved that it would sutHce if 
fthie Ejng af Spain sent a force of 4000 good soldiers. It 
wiSf howeTett necessary that the expedition should bring 
with it money to pay 10,000 soldiers, as well as arms to 
supply 5000 more soldiers. It was essential that their 
ahoold be no delay^ If^i secrecy could no longer he main- 
tained, for premature publicity would destroy suecess. The 
Pope was, therefore, to be urged that he " would deign to 
ttogment a little his liberality and give at once a sum of 
money proportionate to the greatness of the enterprisef and 
laave the whole i^air to i^e Catliolic King and the Duke 
of Ghit»e, in order that the enterprise be carried out as 
■KMi as may be, and, if poseible, this year/^ Pareons Wfi^ 
faiiber inatrucied to tell th e P ope that the compirators 
were sore of haTiog seaports in England where they could 
land in perfect saft^ty, and that it was decided that the 
cspedition shoiild land at the Pile of Fouldrey, near Dalton^ 
tD-Ftuneai. Th« Eoman Catholics were uomerona in that 
part of the country, and could raise &t least 20,000 hocsfr* 



70 



THE JESUITS IH ORKAT BBLTilN 



men to help the invaders. The King of Spain would b« 
asked to permit all the English Romanists who were in his 
service^ in FlanderSf to joiQ the eipeditionarj forcc^ which 
would be under the command of the Duke of Ouiae, 

"HU HoUneea/' the inatnictioD« further auted, "abonld also be 
intreated in the D&nae of the Duke of Guise and all the Catholics 
to expedite a Bui) declaring thzit the enterprise is undertaken by 
hiB Holiness, with the reasons irbich have moved bira thereunto* 
a^rming alio that he baa chained the Catholic King and the 
Duke of Qaine to undertake the enterpnae, at the same time eiving 
Indulgences to all who take pari m this holy work, and retiewin^ 
the Bull issued by Piiis V, (vgainst the Qu*en of England, and 
against all who shall aid or favour her. or oppose in anj waj 
thU holy enterpriee*" * 

While Parsons was away at Rome, the Duke of G-uise 
sent Charles Paget, aa his secret envoy, to the dissaffected 
Roman Catholics of England, to teU them of the arrange- 
ments which had been made for the enterprise, to find 
out who they were who would join the invading army, 
and what was the Btrength of the help which the English 
Roman Catholics could throw into the movement. It had 
been decided th at the Span iah forces w ouEd land in the 
North of England, but that Guise should invade it from 
the south coast, and therefore Paget was to ascertain what 
ports and harbours would be open to him, and it was sug* 
geeted by Guise that the moat convenient spot for landing 
would be at some fort about 50 leagues below Dover. 
''Assure them," said Guise to Paget, *'on the faith and 
honour of Hercules (Guise), that the enterprise is being 
undertaken with no other object or intention than to re- 
establish the Catholic religion in England, and to place the 
Queen of Scotland peacefully on the Throne of England, 
which rightly belongs to her," ' 

Paget came over, accordingly, to England, and held 
secret interviews with those whom he knew to be favourable 



I 



I 



I 



1 lUe&rd* of En^litk CaiJkoiif*, tol, li., p|>. Ivii, Tfiii, 
' Caiemdar v/ Sp^nith Si*(e PafitrM, rot. iii.^ p. fiOft. 



KEMAEKABlxB APPLICAtlOH TO TUB POP! 



71 



to ibe enUrprise, amongst them being the £larl of Aninde], 
und the Earl of North umberland* Of course he had to go 
about ki disguke. After visiting the Sussex coasts he at 
length fixed on Rje harbour a& the best place for the 
landing of the invading armj, and then he returned to 
France* So much time had been spent on negotiations in 
France, Spam, Rome and England, that autumn came on 
before any active preparations for the invasion had been made, 
and then it was seen that it mu£t be put off until after the 
approaching winter* 

Mary Queen of Scots was kept well acquainted with the 
particulars of the plot in her favour, into which she entered 
Tery heartily. It was probably about this tinie that she 
wrote to the Pope, asking, for the second time, a dispenaa* 
tiou ftom him to enable an unnamed number of persons^ 
and also twenty*five of her servants, to profess the Protestant 
religion, and to be present at the religious services and 
communions of the Protestant Church of England ! This, 
^e explained, was necessary for the promotion of "her 
secret counsels and negotiations.'^ She had made a similar 
application before, in 1582, asking then for a dispensation 
for fifty servants to deceitfully profess the Protestant faith. 
She would never have made these applications had she not 
entertained a belief thai they would be granted by the Pope* 
The letter containing the second application for these scandalous 
and disr ep ut ab 1 e dispensati o na was fi rst printed , in 1 &00, 
in the second volume of the Scottish Uistort/ from €onUm~ 
porary Writers series, publbhed by Mr. David Nutt. It 
as follows: — 



■SinDe Her Mo«t Serene Majeaty, the Qu^en of Scotland, has 
been for these many years a prisoner in the hands of the Englieh 
heretid, and on that account ia unable to receive tbe Sacraments 
of the Catholic Church, ar to be present, except cecretly and at 
great riak, ■! divine aervice, and especially at the Sacntice of the 
ICaai, she humbly auppHcateft of Ui£ Hohnesa thAt, so long &§ she 
is kept in that re«traitit: 

**Tbat to a Catholic priett, her chaptfun for the time being, 
there m&y be gmated the faculty, not only of exercising all the 



72 



THi JESUITS IK 6IUIAT KEITAIN 



pimem of a Bishop, except the Sacraraeut of Orders and Confirm- 
alion^ and the consecfation of the ChrisEn* but aleo of ab^olvin^ 
from heresy and recaiviug penilenC heretics into the VjoHom of 
Holy Mother Church. Stich oppoitunitiefl frequeDtly oSer th&m* 
eeWaB. 

''Secondly, siooe, in Ihi^ ftad condition of her aff&irs. the Qneen 
herself has need^ in eontwciKm Ufilh A^r «t'r#i c^vnteU and n^ffoivitiO'*t4. 
of the fii^aietiinoe of aume Eu|g;lishLnea, who, unk*i they aUteiui the 
tSatphemoitt prayiryit and aimmanion of the kerisi'ici, would be ex* 
cludefi, by her ^aolera, from the Queen's presence, or would haye 
di^cuUy in aidiDg her counsels uid plftus, let His HoLinej^a ^rtait 
to u priest, wlwm the Queen m^y choose as chapljiin, the pow^ 
of abaoivififf ihem from uU cenf^re and permtty tn $tic-h ctrcunutaneat 
Hnd reatcjfinp, as often as there ia need, to the j^race of Holy 
Mother Chnrch^ it being understood thst, ae far as pooAible, they 
shall Avoid this irapious communion and profanation ofholy tbln^ 

"Let His Holiness also permit that such pert^ons, even before 
absolution, may without scruple either to the Qneen or to the 
cdebrating priest, or to all others who may be present, be present 
and a^st at the Mass which shall be celebrated in presence of 
the Queen duriiif? her captivity. 

'*The Queen also begs that Catholic men, twenty-five In number, 
nominated by her, m &rder that th^ fnay »*r«e A«r moM eoiMwn*CTi% 
Qtui $a/eh/, may v^thout si)ruple and wilhout danger or fear of cmaxttm 
and of tivtf 6* pre^^nt at mch prayerw and commnnioTit of the h^etict^ 
It being understood that they shall not comraunicate with Ihem or 
give even verbal coueent to their nefarious acta." * 

We are not told what reply the Pope sent to Ihi^ request^ 
but I should not be surprised to learn that he had granted it. 

But while these negotlatioa** were proceeding, events had 
taken place in Scotland of more than ordinary importance 
and interest. On Julj 7, 1533, the young King of Scotland 
escaped &om the control of the Protestant noblemen who 
had delivered him from the clutches of the Duke of Lennox, 
by the Raid of Euthven. It cannot be denied that James was 
far from happy while under their influence, and that of the 
godly Presbyttfrian Ministera who ha<l access to his presence. 
His morals had been corrupted by Lennox, and therefore 
he rejoiced exceedingly when he was once more able to 
surround himself with advisers more to his taste. The 
Presbyterian Ministers, however, were seriously alarmed when 
thej heard of what had happened. A deputation of their 

^ Se^tttuA SiH^ry from ComttmpQfatj WrU^n^ Mary Qii«ei) of Scott, pp^ 

aoo» $01. 



JAMSa TI* AND THB DUEE OV QUlSft 



73 



number w&ited on tke King protesting strongly ftgiLinst the 
new line of conduct irhich he bad adopi^d^ espectallj for 
having released from prison Willi*m Holt, & Jesuit priest. 
But ike youthful mooarch, who h&d now on band the 
Aasiired help of all th^ Romftti Cutliolk nobkmen of his 
country, gave a deaf enr to their complamts, reftLsing to give up 
bk practices. ^^ i am a Ofttholic Ejti^ of Scotland/' he said to 
thenii " and may choose any I like best to be in company witli 
me; and I lUce them best th«,t are wi^ me at present.** ^ One 
of t^e Ministers, John Davidson, told the Kinp : — ''Ye are 
in greater danger now than when ye were rocked in the 
cradle;" but James only laughed in tbe faces of Uie wise 
men who had come to tell him tbe troth, and to act 
tbe part of true friends. Yet, notwithstanding bis scorn^l 
behariour to the Mim&ters, James was really at heart afraid 
of them^ for he well knew how great waa their power in 
the country. He dreaded, and not without reason, lest he 
should again fall into their power. That should never take 
place, if he could help it, and therefore in hig extremity 
He sought aid from the enemies of the Protestant reti;^on 
which he professedf and bad sworn jsolemnly to maintain. 
The Duke of Ooise wrote offering hun aid in hiB difficulty, 
uni this oder be hailed with unbounded joy. He acknow- 
ledged the offer in a letter of gushing gratitude, dated 
August 19, 15S3t *'The offers you make me,^* he said, '*are 
so agreeable to me that I am very happy, and desirous of 
accepting them when the state of my affaira will allow me 
to do so. I esteem it the greatest treasure I haTe on earth 
to find so near a relattTe, who is unlTersally acknowledged 
to be the first captain of our time, both for valour and 
prudence, ready to take my part if need should arise."* He 
thanked God that he bad extracted himself from his diffi-^ 
coitieSf and was now '* ready to avenge " himself on those 
who had caused him trouble — meaning no doubt the Pro- 



i Cd4er«ood*« SttUry &f tk* Mirk &/ SeaUattd, vol ni., p. 717. 



74 



TEJt JESUITS IS OEIAT KStTAlK 



testant Lords and Ministers who had tried to lead him in 
the right way, Laeilj, he boasted tbat he had set at lihertj 
William Holt, the Jesuit, to please the Dulse of Guise, and 
*^to the great annojance of the English Ambassador^ and 
many others/* ' 

When be wrote this letter, JameSf no doubt, felt secure, 
but a few months later he wrote again, on February 19, 
158i, to the Duke of Quise, in fear and tremblings seeking 
for help. 

"I now perceive,^' he declared, "that the slrength of my enemieft 

and rebels in growing d&ilj, with so many means and aitns of 
the Queen of £ugland for the eiibverHiou of my State, and the 
deprivation of my own life, or ttt least raj honour and liberty, 
which I prise more than ray life, mid that it will be impofisible 
for me to r«stet for lonji; without the aid of Qod and my good 
frienda and allies* I therefore beg you. my dear cousin, to UEe 
all your influence with the princes who are your hiends, and fv^n 
irith onr Hoty Father, to whem I am writing^ with the obJ4?ct of 
ot^itainin^ prompt and spf'eJy help, otberwine I fear 1 aball 8oon 
be forced either to be ruiued or to thruw iny^ell into their arms 
and accede to all their unhappy desi^s and ttppetiteg. If by 
yonr meana I can obtain some Buciionr I hope, God helping, that, 
with the support of a goad DUtnber of adhertnit^ that I have, both 
in BeotlancI und in England, I shall soon be ouC of thefle didicnl* 
tiotf and / tihati be more free to foUovr your «d«M in alt thin^9, 
both in religion ami SUUe affkira, ^ I wish to do in all things 
reasonable, * 

This was nothincr better than the letter of an unprincipled 
youth, who thought more of bis own selfish comforts and 
pleasures than of the welfare of his people, and the intereats 
of true religion. His promise to follow the advice of the 
Duke *'in religion" as well as in matters of State, was 
simply diagTficeful, coming from one who had only a few yeara 
previously sworn to the Solemn League and Covenant, and 
had never publicly repudiated his allegiance to the Kirk of 
Scotland* On the same day that he wrote to the Duke, 
James also wrote a letter to the Pope, asking for help to 



I 



I 



I 
I 



Cai^ndar cf ^anUk Siad* Paptn, tqI. iii,, pp> SOS| 603, 
Ikid, p. &18. 



JAMIA ?L Wairss TO THE POPE 75 

resist tbe Protestants, and rescue his mother, Mary Queea 
of 3coU, from her imprisonment in England* Certainly his 
loTe for his mother waa natural and right, and no one 
could blame him for doing all in bis power to rescue her 
fro m i is tress. But that love m us t b are been mis erab ly 
weakf for it never led him to do more on her behalf than 
to write a few letters here anfi there asking for help, and 
when she died it was not long before he manifested an 
eager anxiety to be at peace with his mother^s great enemy, 
Queen Elizabeth. But the name of his mother was likely to 
tell with the Pope, and therefore he did not fail to use it 
So, after telling the Pontiff about his own troubles, ha 
{proceeded : — 

"Under such a blow as this I can only look for aid and succour 
to Ibe prudence and the nfTet^tion you bear Lowartl^ our very dear 
mother, although 1 myself have hitherto deserved ngthing at your 
bandfi, but I have always been told by thoae iffUo have advised me to 
the present course, that I might better hope for aid and ftucoour 
frOEH your Holiness than from &uy other Prince, The extreme 
nead in which I now ain is s^uch that, unless X hnve some help 
irxuD abroad. I ehall find myaelf in danger of boit^g forced to 
aecond the designs of my greatest enemies and youra^ becaufle in 
my childhood the traitora abused my youth aud authority and 
took poeBession of my domains aod tre*r*ure, of the prtucipal 
Btrongboldfi of the countiy, and of every thing* else which might 
•tren^then themselves, whilst I was tUna Uoprived of the power of 
detendin^ myself, of delivering my mother, and of asserting her 
and my right to the Throne of England, With regard to tha 
xaeans by which all thii; mAy be remedied, I have had recourve 
to my dear coiiffiu the Duke of Guiee, to whom I have written, 
and by whose advice I have adopted thia means of defending and 
protecting the cause of my dear and honoured motlier, I bopa 
to be able to satisfy your HoUneas on all other points, especially 
if I am aided in my great need by your Holiuees. I pray your 
Hollnee« will pleaae to keep very secret the communication t 
thus open with you, and let no one know that I have written thia, 
mm my interests would otherwise be retarded, and perhapfl my 
•tal« Qtfcerly ruined^ seeing the weakness of my reaoarces and the 
Moall means I hnve here at present tg defend my^eLff if I were 
•Mailed by my rebels and the Queen of England/'* 

No wonder that James was anxious that the Pope should 
k»ep his letter '*Tery secret,^' for if the Presbyterians of 

t CWAd^ &/ Sp^muA SUtt Pmp^t, wol ill, pp. SIS. Bit. 



76 



TDK JESUITS IN OBEAT MEtTAIN 



ScoUaxid bad heard about it, be would very soon have lo&t 
hts Crown. But, bappilj for hinif tbe^ did not kaow bow 
far wrong he had gone in seeking aid from foreigri powers 
to upset the laws and constitution of his country. The 
Pope, notwithstanding the entreaty of Jai»es, after receiving 
kis letter, at once sent a copy to the King of SpaiB, through 
Count De OUrares, Spanish Ambassador at the Vaticaa, 
recommending tlie cause of the King of Scotland to hia 
faTODiabie consideration, and promising his own help. 

Shortly before the datft of King James's letter to the 
Pope, the former had sent Lord Seton to Paris as his 
Ambassador to the French Court. This nobleman had for 
sever*! years prof eased the Protestant faith, and had even 
perjured himself bj swearing to the Solemn Lea^e and 
Covenant Yet all the while he was secretly a Boman 
Catholic, and one of the most trusted friends of the Jesuit 
priests, whom he succoured on all possible occasions during 
their secret visits to Scotland, On this occasion, when he 
arrived in Paris, fifteling so doubt safe, he made a publie 
profession of the Roman Catholic religion. Rumours of 
what had taken place, however, came to the ears of the 
Presbyterian Ministers in Edinburgh, with the result that 
when^ early in 1585, Lord Seton returned to Scotland, he 
waa severely censured by Jamea for bis indiscreet conducts 
The circumstances of his return are thus referred to in a 
letter from Mendoz^ to PhiJip II., dated Paris, February 7, 
1585;^" Letters from Scotland, dated 6th ultimOf bri^ 
news that all waa quiet there, although Lord Seton had 
been harshly received by the King publid^^ in consequence 
of his having openly professed Catholicism here [Parisj, 
vbitst in private he (the King) hod approved of his conduct 
and had shortly aflerwarda gone to his house to visit him 
as he was ill of dropsy/^ ^ This little incident ^ow:s what 
a master in the art of dissimulation the young King had 



C^*ittUf iff Spanish Stait F*ptTtt nJL ui,, p^ GSl. 



U>ttP 9ET0H 8 DECXTTFUL COKDUCT 



77 



become. Soon after bis arriTJil in Paris Lord Seton held 
many secret conferences with the Papal Nuncio, the Duke 
of Quise, and the Spanish Agent at the French Court. But 
Sir Edward Stafftwd, the Eugliah Ambassador at Paris at 
ihe time, had hie eje on him, and by means of secret agents 
was able to discorer a great deal of his secret proceedings, 
which he was carefnl to send home for the information of 
the Eogliah Qoremment. On February 33, 1584, ha reported 
what had taken place at an audience which Seton had 
obtained with the King of France. *^The Lord Setorif'* ho 
wrote, "with the Biahop of Glasgow, who always hath the 
upper hand, were hrought in to the King by the Duke of 
Guise and Duke Joyeuse; they both, especially the Duke of 
Quise, OOontenanciDg him all the ways he could, andf prefient- 
iog him to the King, told him that he wished with all hia 
heart that all the noblemen in Scotland were like him, for 
he wcu a good CcUholic^ and greatly his servant/* ^ The 
King^ told Seton that he would do hia utmost to maintain 
the ancient league between France and Scotland* "The 
Lord Seton/' says Stafford, ** answered with great thanks, 
and at that time had no longer speech with him^ but he desireth 
ftgaio audience, some day this week. His whole address is 
to the Duke of Guise from the King his master, from whose 
elbow almost he nefer is, often at dinner and supper with 
him. The Spanish Agent had conference about three hours 
on Monday last, but that was openly under colour of the 
Agent *a visiting him; but they had twice conference before 
secretly. He hath had also secret conference with the Pope's 
Nuncio, who yet bath not visited him openly. I have scmie 
biieUigence of h'la secret commisBions, but to be certain I 
win atay the advertising your honour till the next despatch , 
for I think in the meantime he shall have again audience 
of the King. If he hare, I shall be more certain of hia 
charge after he bath delivered to the King than now, for 



» Mmfhky SUU PapfTj, Tol, iL, p. aOS. 



78 



tWR Je$[7ITS [N OBXkT BRlTilN 



be bath no want of good counnel, and their mfttters 
be kept very secret among them." While Lord Seton was 
at Paris, Mr, John Colville^ a well-informed agent in Scot- 
land of Queen Eli/abefch, suggested to Lord Hunsdon^ GoTemor 
of Berwick-on-Tweed, that enqtdries should be made ; — 
** What does the Lord Seton's long abode there [in Paris] 
signify^ and his frequent conferences with the Bishops of 
G lasgo w and Ro as, wj th the S paniah Amb assador , Pope's 
Nuncio, and ScoUisk JesuUs'f^^ 

While at Pai-is Lord Seton wrote a letter to the Pope, 
in which he showed himself in his true colours as an avowed 
Roman Catholic, and at the same time pleaded for assistance 
to be gr an te d to his ma;s ter James VI . As affo r ding a 
specimen of duplicity^ practised by a fipLTitual chUd of the 
Jesuits, it is worth reprinting here in full: — 



*'To OcR Mo&T Hoi.y TjOud— I need not explain to your Holin 
ihe part whu?h I have tak^n in defending the Catholic rtSiffion^ aiid 
ihf auihoniii of ih* ^'T/p^flI?e Pontiff, for I would rather leave this 
to others, H^kVinf; been Bent hither by my luo&t aereoe m&sier, 
the Kiti^ of Buota, to implore the ^^id of the most Cbnstifui King, 
ill OUT itreadful emergencies, I eoiild not do otherwise than writ^ 
to your iloHue^iis idome aocount of the slate of our affairs. 

** Briefly, after the Miui^ters had succeeded in aendin;^ the Duke 
of Letinox away froni Hcotlatid. the Kin^ wajit ao otieoded that he 
would hrrld do coiniimuiciitiion with tbem, though pr^riously b6 
had always acted in acLXirdauce with iheir advice. They took 
offence in tiiru, and 6^t o» foot ft violent iusurrectioniLry movement 
agaioat hia authority^ partly by menna of the a;?enU^ of the Qutten of 
England, and partly through their own rebel leatlers. Being rednoed 
to exlremity, he has implored the aid of the mo^^t CixrUtian King, 
and more particularly thnt of his relative the Duke of Guise; 
a j>roc(2Qdii]g which has raised the hn]>ea of Catholics to the 
higoesit point. So favourable an opportunity never occurred before, 
and eould not have been expei^K^d or tooted for; and it is 
doubly importa-iit that it should not be loat. The King ha« so 
high iiQ opitiioti of the Duke of Guise, that we are in hopea he 
will bd >;oided in everything by his adk'iee; indeed he has not 
oidy written aa much *o the Dnke, but has charged me with a 
tneasage to the »aiiie effect. Our hope is that your Holiness will 
both animate and enoourai^e the Duke to make some efibrt tn CA4 
eKVU99 of relt^ioo, and also give bim substantial aBsistance. 

**God Himself, beyond all our hopes, seems to have provided 
your Holiuees with ihia opportunity of extending reliKioD, and of 
obtaining never enditjg glory. The King's age, his perilous and 

) LetUn of Mr. J^k^ Cfifvi^, p. flO. IknnatyDQ Chib, ISBS, 



I 



ALE11NDE& SETON 



79 



cridcAl position, tbe unbridled weoletice of the Mioisterff, are mil 

cnrcumsUnces in our favour. But it is of the utmoat iiupfjrtance 
io lose no tini6, or the <:;han<:e will p&a^ mway. The Qtieen of 
Sngland is strAininK every nerve to erueh tbo King of Scots by a 
r«b0HioQ in his own country, and, tf siioceAsful^ she wilJ etippre^s 
the Catholic relij;ion ttllopoiber. The Duke of Guise, to whom I 
have tran^mitterl the Kine: of Bcotlftnd'a letter for yotir HolineiP^ 
wiU dotibtle^^e explain nifUters in detail. But I would iTDplore 
TQur Holiness not to lei the exi^tetice of these conununioattoiis be 
known to any one, for th)& would, nt tbo present iiineture, placd 
Ibe King in the most extreme difficulty. At a later period we 
hope, by Che aid of your Hotineeiii, that he will be free to declare 
bimaelf openly a eon of your Be&Utade» At prespnt be ia so 
completely id the power of his enemiea, that he is scarcely at 
libefty to do Anything whatever; Jrom this condition it ia for your 
Beftiitude to rescue him. God preaerve you long to Hid Church* 
^Your Holiness'e moat humble e^rraat, 

"Piirie, March 14, 1584."' 

Kotwitbsianding all these efforts of James and his friends 
to obtain help from the Pope, the King of Spain^ and the 
Duke of Ouise, jet, so far as I can ascertain, no practical 
UBsistance was g^ranted to him beyond certain sums of 
money secured by the Jesuit Parsons, who, singularly 
enoagh, a fe w y ears late r, wro te aga inst his claim to 
■needed to the Eni;fli3h Throne on the death of Elizabeth. 
Parsoofl subsequently boasted of the help he had obtained 
for Jaraea: — "At this my being with tbe King of Spain,'' 
he wrote, "I obtained 24,000 crowns to be ^nt to the 
King of Scots, which were paid by John Baptist Taxia, in 
Fara. I also obtatned in 15S4, for King James, of Pope 
Gregory XIII., 4000 crowns, by Bille of Exchange, which 
myself brought also, and delivered in Paris," * 

When Lord Seton started from Scotland for Paria, he 
took with him his son Alexander Saton, afterwards Lord 
Chaocellor of Scotland. ^ There is not a little mystery 
about Uje history of this son. In his biography, written 
by Mr. George Seton, one of hiB descendants of tbe present 
day, M)ine strange facts are related about his early career. 

* Jfgrr^iie^t &/ HeoitntA CaiAofict, pp. 185—8. 



80 



TSl JESUITS IN O&EIT BBITAIN 



"From bis godoiotber^ Qa««B M*r}%''»ye hia biogr&pb&rt "Alex- 
ander Setou reoeivwlf as ' aoe godbftime pft,' the luide of Vhis- 
c&rdeti in BCor&y, with which be was otberwise aft«Twftrd« id«nti6ed. 
'Fmditig him of ft great fiptrit/ hi& fftihei sent bim to Home at an 
MJiy Aj^, with the view of hia following thf^ profesflian of & 
Charobmjin, Mid ^ siutii^4 /or #(»»« fm« «n Ifig Jt^wit*' Coltegt, 
'Be dflolAUDedt not bein^ gixteea yeitrs ofai^ef ane ^ArDed oratioo 
of hift oxra ccafiponin^, Oe A»eenut>i%e Domini, ou that fefitiT&ll dfty, 
ptiblickiy before the Pop«, Qregorj the ISth^ tb« Ciu-HinfllJ, and 
other prelnU present m the Pope s chftpel in the Vatican, with 
((reat applauae. He was in grmi esteem att Rome for his learning, 
betDg a great haEuani^t m praee and poecte, Greek and Latine; 
weiL veried in the matbematicks. and bad f^t^t &kill in arehit^ottire 
and beranldne.' Acx>ording to SpoUiiwoode^ '^^ionUxtkHoii/ OrtUrt 
abroad^ and the AAoertioii seemB to be condrmed by Seotetarv«t, 
who metitione that * hU ChtUioe wheremih he $aid Mas* at hi* koDk^ 
c^min^f waa sold in Edinburgh*'"* 

Tbe date of yonng Seton's **ho™eH50miiig" to Scotland 
ia not giTen, bat apparently be came back oa an ordained 
priest of tbe ChxxTch of Rome, and certainly after baying 
been admitted into tbe Jesuit Order. Brother Henry Foley, 
S.J*, in bis official Becords of the English Provifue, 5-*/., 
gives us tbe folio wis g particulars: — 



I 



"Bbtok ALEXANDCfCp Father. Thi* Father, regarding whom w« 
IKiawM ao littte informalTOD. wa« probably a aon of Lord de Seton^ 
one of the grc'M champion cbiefm of the Catholic cauFie in Bootland- 
In a report upon tbe state of Sootland made by the Priest, WiUiam 
Watta» printed in a lettw- of Dr, (aftetwarda Gardina^ Alleo to the 
Cardinal of Como, dated Bheims, February 18« 158'i, ntention k 
xiada of Lord da Soton and the other prinoipal favourer of tbe 
Oatbolie oame : * Wbieh Lord de Belon i^ father of that Hr, A3ex- 
andor 8eton, who received bin education a few years a^ in the 
Roman BcmimLrr/ In another letter of Dr. Alien to Fatber A^ai- 
xari, BectOT of tbe Enfziliah D>nege, Eome, dat«d Hheims, May ^, 
1&S3, he eara: * What I wroie before reg^ording the capture ftf 
Dr. Alerandar Baton ie diabelieved.' A|;ain, in a letter of tbe 
Cardinal of Como to tbe ^nncio of France, dated Home, April 2^ 
1584, we read : ' And ^erefore on ihis account it will be anperfluons 
to send Father Alexander Seton here/ " * 

There cao be no question as to the ideniity of the Jesoii 
Alexander Seton with the son of Lord Setoa mentiof]^ 
before. Mn Darid Laing was of this opinion ; — '* Sir Alex- 



I 



) Mem&if &f JititmrnUr Setvn. By Ge«r;fl S«toa« pp. 18, 19. 



stfoH aiaKs rsE solbici cotxkavt 



81 



ander Setoo of Fjrie/' he writes, " third son of GeoigQ, 
sixth Lord Seton, w^s origioAllj iatended for Uie Churcti, 
and eQiered the College of the Jesttits at Rome, ' And it 
wiU be observed that, as late as 1584^ be is still recognked 
aa a **F&iber^^ or priesi, bj iugh authorltiee in tbe Cboreh 
of Boroe. Yet it is certain that this self -same priest and 
Jfisoit waa one of those who^ with his father, in Janxmxj 
1581, si^ed and swore to the Solemn L^a^ue and Coreiiant, 
in which the peculiar doctrines of Kome and her corrupt 
practices were coademned in the strongest possible language! * 

Only two jears later, in 1583, when an Englishman named 
Brereton was arrested at Leitb, there was foiHid in his posses- 
sion a letter from Alexander Seton, addressed to the Qenersl of 
the Jesuits at Rome, in praise of the work being then done 
in Scotland hy the Jesuit Holt^ which, he stated, had gir^i 
great satisfaction and consolation to all those with whom he 
had dealt and n^otiated. * The Jesuit Seton's promotion was 
rapid* He was made an Extraordinary Lord of the Seseion^ "of 
the spiritual estate^' in 1586, and in the following year 
was created Baron Urquhart, and a ^ant made to him of 
the lands of Urquhart and Pluscarden. In 1593 he was 
elected Lord President of Seasion, and in 1605 he was created 
£arl of Dunfermline, and appointed Lord Chancellor of Scotlandp 

Soon after his arriyal in Scotland, joung Alexaiidef Setoa 
was treated bj tbe QoTernment as a Roman Catholic, and, 
IB consequence of aot baring conformed to the Established 
Kirk, he was deprived of the Priory of Pluscarden, whicb^ 
flfl we have seen, was granted to him by Mary Queen of 
Scots. The Historian ot the House of Seton, Hr. George 
SetoD, who also wrote the Memoir of Alexander Selon^ says : — 

i l^tttr* */ JaAm CdlwiiU. p. SOt, mots, B^noMtfTkc CH\ 1SS8. 

* Sm I^s tot of this S<ilti]ia L^Lgna aad C^veual, n^pa, pp. 36, SI. Tk* 
■«■«• of lb« ^M«pd' BK«i who li^td it »f« gtv«a in Cftlderwood^t Uatpfj of 
lAtf Kir^ »/ Seoiiimd, vol. iii,. p. 601 « ud in Row'» EuiitrU of tltt Kitk «/ 
iintf M i. W««dt««r Society Bdition, p, 77. 

• CHitfwMd't AtAtefy <>/ iki X&i of StotiMnd, vol. liL^ pp. 70S«70«» 
viL in, p. «00, 



82 



TBI JS90lTa m OBIAT BBITAOl 



I 



** On the 6tb of February 1576 — 7, we cotne «oto«« a curioo* 
entrj m the Great Seal Register, in the »ha,pe of & gr&tii, during 
life, by the King fo J&mefi Douglfts, illegitiCTiate »on of J*cpee, 
£arl of Morton, Regent of Sootlitod, of the Priory of FIusc&rdiDt;, 
with iU dignities and patriTOony, wliich belonged to 'Alexander 
SejtouD, alleged Prior ofPluscardyn, son of George Lord Seytouo/ 
Ami the Lords of the Council, on the 16lb of January in the same 
year, at the instance of Mr, David Borthwiok^ the King's Advocate, 
' decerned the aaid Ateiander to have "iiMt all tUs benencei, bec&uee 
be bad not ab yet submitted to the di^ipline of the true Ohurohr 
and participated of the Sacraments thereof, nor had he eome to 
the Biahopt Superintendent, or Commiftsary of tbc diocese, or pro- 
mise for adhibiting hie ae&ent; nor bad he subscribed the article* 
of the Crne and Chnstian religion, contained in the Acts of Parlia- 
ment, and given bis oath for acknowledging the King, nor bad 
brought a testimonial thereupoai; neither bad he i)re8ent«>d bimaelf 
on A Lord's Day in time of sermon or public prayer in the Church 
of the f«aid Pnory, and read hie testimo&iai and confession, and 
of new taken tbe said oath according to thie order of the Aot of 
Parliament"* 

The biographer of AlexaDder Seton treats those with 
something almost approaching to contempt who doubt his 
ProteatantiBm from the time of bis arrival in Scotland from 
Rome, notwithstanding his statement about hia education in 
the Jesuits College, and his ordination as a priest of Rome. 
Certainly be prores that Seton made a public profusion of 
Protestanlisnif yet this is not a refutation of the fact thai 
all the while he was in heart a Roman Catholic. Id proof 
of his Protestantism his biographer quotes the official record 
of his admission aa an Ordinary Lord of Sesdon, ia ISSB, 
which states that: — ■ 

** Because the aaid Lords were ioformed that tbe aaid Alexander 

has not aa yet communicated with the whole of the faithful 
brethren, the Sacrament of the Supper of our Lord, and, therefore, 
according to the laws and statutes of this realm, be might not be 
a anfficient judge with the other Lords of the 8euion, and there- 
fore the said Alexander has bound himself that be shall, with the 
grace of God, communicate, with the reatofthe brethren of the @eeei<Mi 
the Sacrament of the Sapper of the Lord, at the prefixed time 
appointed by the Ministers of Edinburgh, or at the least before the 
days appointed thereto be past, and in case be fail therein, he 
shall tas» hia €frdinar plaeej'* 

> J Eiiiory o/ the Rouie &f SH&n Duriwtf Eight Cent^ict, Bj 6«oc^ 
vd. ii,, p. AS5, Ediabur^li. Prirhtsl; printed^ 1894. 

* Mtmoir q/ Alexander Seiam^ p. t^S. 



THE KCltO W&ft^BlJ lOAlHat SST<>H 



83 



It eeems tbat earlj in 1597 a letter wag seBt in at night 
to the King, warning him against certain of the men whom 
he had chosen as counsellors, and esp^iallj against S^ion, 
to whom the writer referred ld the following terms: — *'I 
mean that Romanist President, a shayeHng and a Priest ; 
more meet to saj Mass in Salamanca, than to bear office 
in Christian and Reformed CommonweaK** On this state* 
ment Seton^a biographer remarka : — ^* The elegant allusiona 
to their [the counsellora'] religious procliTities are quite in 
keeping with the sentimentg of a certain section of so-called 
historians of the period ; and I shiiLl afterwards have occasion 
feo refer to the 9uppo$ed Papistical tendencies of the* shaveling 
and priest/"' We are next told that a Presbyterian Minister 
named Pont, m the year 1599, dedicated a book to Seton, 
in which he wrote: — "For your Lordship knows well enough 
the manners of Rome, and (as I am persuaded) allowg not of 
thai pompous superstition.'^ ' Seton^s biographer also calk atten- 
tion to Calderwood^s statement that upon Easter Day, 1618^ 
^^ the Bishop of Galloway ministered the Communion in the 
Bojal Chapel, where Chancellor S&ton " and others were 
present; and that, in the same year, ^^ upon Whitsunday, the 
24th of May, the Bishop ofGaUoway ministered the Communion 
in the Chapel Boyal of the Chancellor'** — a clear proof 
that down to the end of his life — he died in 1622 — he 
continued to publicly profess the Protestant religion. He 
waa buried in the Kirk of Dalgety, and the Protestant 
Archbishop Spottiswoode preached a sermon in the church 
on this occasion. 

Yet, as I have already asserted, Alexander Seton, though 
for nearlj forty years publicly professing the Protestant 
religion was in heart and reality a Roman Catholic. There 
ji no record of his having ever resigned his membership 
of the Jeeuit Order, or of his having been expelled ^m it. 
Ab a Roman Catholic he must have looked upon the marriage 

> Mew^tir 0/ jU^mmder SHo^ pp. 1%, SB. > IhU., p, 30. 

* CUanwood^i Hittory of tkr Kirk of Se&tUnd, vol. vn., pp. t9T, t4S. 



M 



mi JBIFIT9 IN O&UT B&rTAfff 



of priesta of that Churcb as invalid and sdniul. But for all 
that he got marrie<i, and was eren married three times t 
Bellesh euit, a modem Rontan Catb oli c Historian of h is 
Communion in Scotland, d«6eribtng th« ecclesiastical eTents 
in that country between 1587 and IftOS, remarks:— "An- 
other prominent Catholic in Scotland was the Chancellor of 
the Kingdom, Alexander Seton, who had rec€tred his educa- 
tion in BologT]& and Rome, and was esteemed oae of the 
most learned jurists of his age. James VI. loaded bim, on 
his return to Scotland , with prefennentB and honours, 
and he conBequentlj became a prominent mark for the 
spiteful attacks of the preachers. Seton appears at times 
to hata been wanting in the courage to make open 
profession of his faith; but some time before his deatli he 
publicly and unreserredlj declared his adherence to the 
Catholic religion/* ^ 

A Jesuit priestf nam^d James Seton, writing to the 
General of the Jesuits at Rome, on September SOth^ 1605, 
supplies us with ample proof of the real sentiments of Alexander 
Seton at that time, orer twenty years after he had publicly 
professed the Protestant faith. This letter shows the Roman 
priests as themselres active parties to the shameful deception 
being carried on. It will be obserred that Alexander Seton 
was formally recognised, by the Jesuits and priests, as a 
real Roman Catholic, going to Confession and Communion 
two or three times a year, and all the while profeaaing 
publicly the Protestant religion. 

"The pereecutioi) in Scotlwad," writes James Seton to the General, 
^doea not cease or leaseD aince the depiirture of the Kin^, The 
J^ovemment is entirely in the hands of tl>e Ix>rd AleJiauder Seton^ 
whom the Kin|f hfui made Em\ of Dutifertnline, Ofkd tt^ho m 
favaupahty ktw^n to your FiUemity. He \b, or should be Abbot of 
that p^aci^, vrhere there was once a furoous mon&stery. He was 
UtrmeTly Fteaidcnt of the Council, nnd h now Chanceltoi of th« 
Kingdom. The Viceroy ia the Earl of Montrooe, the President of 
the Council the Lord Jaiuea £lphinaU^n, brother of Fj&thef George; 



I 



I 
I 



* Bcllfltheim'* Butor^ cf the Ct^kotU ChvrA in SeeHAmti, ?ol. iii., p. 3S8. 



nTON A DISaUISID JESUIT 85 

bat they are all directed by Lord Alexander 8eton. E€ U a 
CaiholiCy aa is also the Lord Pre»)dent and the Royal Advocate. ' 
In political wisdom, in learning, in hi}<h birth wealth, and authority, 
be podsesses far more influence than the rest, and hin power is 
universally acknowledged. Bat he publicly professes th^. State religion, 
rendering external obedience to the Kini; and the Ministers, and 
got$ occtutianally, ihoxigh rarely^ io the sermoiu, sometimes to their 
heretictil Communion, He has also nthscribed their Cf/nfemon 0/ Faitht 
withont which he would not be able to retain peaceable possession of 
the rank, offices, and estates with which he is so richly endowed. 
He has brought all the principal men of the Kingdom round to 
the same view, and very few venture to differ from him, owing^ to 
bis eloquence, learning, and authority. Two or three times a year 
he comes io Catholic Confession and Communion with his mother, 
sister, and nephews, who are better Catholics than himself." ' 

Father Forbes-Leitb, S.J., tells us that: — **Four years 
before bis [Seton'sJ death, in presence of a numerous 
assembly of Catholics, attended by the ringleaders of the 
Puritan faction and many other Protestants, after affirming 
that be bad never ceased to bold the doctrine of the 
Orthodox Church, he declared that nothing gave him greater 
pain than to recollect how be had shown himself lukewarm 
and remiss in bis profession of faith, in order to ingratiate 
himself with bis Sovereign. When be bad thus spoken 
with tears in his eyes he called the assembly to witness 
that be would die in the profession of the Roman Catholic 
faith." • 

What a double-dyed hypocrite this man must have been ! 
"Four years before his death," as we have seen, that 
is, in 1618, he was present at the Lord's Supper on Easter 
Sunday, in the Presbyterian Kirk, and on the following 
Whitsunday he was actually a communicant in the Chapel- 
Royal, Edinburgh. His excuse that he only acted in this 
double-faced manner *' in order to ingratiate himself with bis 
Sovereign," is one which is not convincing. Is it not far 
more probable that he so acted to "ingratiate himself" with 

1 Both of these men, like Aleiftn<ler Seton, publicly profeueil the ProtcsUnt 
relg^ion, while being in reality Roman Catholics. 
> Narratives of Scottish Catholics, pp. 278. 279. 
* lUd,, p. 868. 



86 n 

Oe ecnenl of &e Jmabi, «ri to flni man dkdta^j 
pranoto tbe intorafta ci the P^acf nder the him ctAaan 
of ft Protabmi? li k Boi to be M^poMd liiai he erer 
thai BBide a pdUie ^wofwaon of Rommmma. in the pree epce 
of ProieataiitB, ''four jma^ befiwe hit death. That would 
ha^ been a anddal act Aad if m 1618, he had been 
■necre m hii i niiiwiiiiit of r^ret for not haring all along 
proftaaed flie Bonaa faith which in hia heart he bdiered, 
iHij did he far the next four jean, aad to hia dying hour, 
continne to pabfidj protea tiie Proteatant fiulh? 

If theae things happoied three hnndred jaaza ago, what 
is to prerant their rc p e ti tioi^ (dMold tiie needs of the Jeaoit 
Older require it) in the twentieth centoryf 



CHAPTER IV 



JESUIT PEEFARATIONS FOR THE SPANT9H ABMADA 



JovTLT or nnjustlj, as a matter of &ct, in the public 
estimation the J^uits were tuiied np with Almost ereiy 
political crime perpetrated in Kngland, from the time they 
started their first mission down to 1605, With the excep* 
tion of the Gunpowder Plot the evidence of their complicity 
in the attempted assassinations of Queen Elizabeth is largely 
dcriT&d from the statements of spiea in the employ of her 
GoTemment. The difficulty of dealing fairly with such 
eridence is obvious. It cannot be placed as of as high 
authority as that of independent witnesses; yet it would be 
unwise to reject it altogether. If Jesuit priedta haTe used 
and quoted portions of eyidence giren by spies, why should 
• Protestant writer be refused permission to use it also, 
prorided he doea so with care and discrimination? In thus 
treating their evidence I have the sanction of the author of 
Tht Life &f M<9fy H^ard^ edited by the Rev. Henry James 
Coleridge, S.J.^ and issued by the English Jesuits in their 
well-known QuarUrly Series^ That biographer remarks;— 
'*The words of the apostate spies, ao much employed by 
the GoTemment of Elizabeth and James, who retailed evil 
oonceming the Catholics, and invented where they could not 
collect any, are sometimes of uae in history. For feigning 
ibemselves true children of the Church, they gained access 
whe!Fe otherwise they would hare been shut out. When 
tmtli was convenient they used it, so that by their means 
mformation has come down to us, especially in matters of 
personal history, which but for them would often have been 



■ A grmt iml ol (^ 

sre b«t rery iligbtij eoawIM hf 

tii«j tfc praetkftlhr ovknown. Bat 



fomd ita 
Bi roocnt 

to nnnj of 
the eridesice 
ti&e Jovili k by DO wifiaiM foafiBtjl io 4h« twUmottj 
«f wfim. The vboovb ifatffnte »afc bj Um aeetilHr Bouttn 
Caflioifr igi ea tfl of the pexioj, wbo were no flpes, bot who 
ww» penoDAllj acqofliBted wi& tiw ib«b who«e eoodocl 
tl^y *«"*fa»"". team m wmm^ aiport—t link in the dxam 
of erideBoe ftgrnmst oerUin diacipks of Ibe Jesuit Order. 
In "" Tbe Secofau^ FtiMti* Preface lo the Kigtsb Csdiolica," 
prioted lA 1602, wA the lagiisJi bmiidmtion of The JeauitM' 
CattvMmmf, Jl m aeeeried tbet '^ To rec^ire JnuiiB into a 
Emgdoanr i^ to r«e«ire in a T«rmm, whicb at length will knftW 
out the heart of th« State both ^iritaal and teniponL 
They work imderbaiid the ntm of the eoonlriee where tbej 
dwen, aad the tnmrder of whatsoerer Kiogs aad Pmces it 
pieaeetb thevi.^ ' Another Roioas Catholic priest, writing 
is 160S, gmi it as hifl o^union, that '' To saj that no prieBt, 
JeKot, or other Catholic, hath practised a^inst Uu tacred 
pertom vf oar Soptrngn^ and quiet of her State, aa well 
hj &m deatiQgs withm the realm, as bj their procuring 
iiiTMiiini^ and laying the plots thereof without the realnit 
H were mere impndeDce^ and to deny a rerity as apparent 
ae the sitnahme at noonday, as both by dirers poblic con- 
tietioiis thereof, and by books, letters, and pamphlets written 
lo that ptirpoee may appear; and Father Southwell, tn his 
SmppUeation, tn part confessetb as much/* ' And the same 
writer also asaerte: ^'The Catholic authors of the JesuMs* 
Caieehume telleih ufi that aO the late rebellious treacheries 
and murdere he there mentioneth^ were plotted and contrired 
in the eoUegefl of the Jeeuits in France. And do not these 

« 7%e Jttmfii* CvierAume. Frefin, 150^. 



I 



I 



I 



ftOMI 15D KUKDn PLOTS 



89 



Jesaifcical professors tell ofi as macfa of tHeir own proc^edii^ 
m Ui« C<^]eg«9 of ibe Society of Jesus ia SpAin, for oar 
treasons^ rebellioDS, and niurders in Irelan^^'* ' 

Tbe nurderoua spirit which plotted tbd many attempted 
nniMnniniitinni of Queen Elizabeth, appears to hare been 
generaUj approTed at Rome in the sixteenth century. That 
most leam«d of recent Roman Catholic historians, the late 
Lord Acton, telk us that: 



"In the ralKiooa ilfmggle [anatnst the Protestant RefonnaUoDl 
m frenij had faeMt tveAted which made weftknesa viai^nt. %aa 
tamed Kood men sate prodigies of fvocity ; and ol M^me, wbere 
every lose mflicced on Oatholicitnif atkl every wound, woa feU, 
C^ Mi^/ ihmir m d « m& m g witk hereiiea, m^^der it beitsr tkan txiijfraHofiy 
WTfwmUd /or ka^ a eenhtry. The pretieeefl^or of Gregorv [XIIlJ 
oad been Inquisitor OeneraU In his ejee ProieetanU were wo»e 
thao Pagann, ^nd LntikerxcB txb>re d*Qf eroofi Ihan other Prcrteeiants. 
The GapiK^hitt prcaober, Ftsio^. bore witnees that men were 
haofed ADid quartea^d almoat fiaily &t Borne, aod Pane [V.] declared 
that he wou4d reieaae a culpirit i^iltjof * hundred murdete r»ther 
than one obfttiliala heretic. He eerionsly contemplAted mzing the 
town of Faeiua because it wae infested with religious error; and 
be recommended a aiimlar expedient to the King of France. He 
adjured him to hold no intercotir^e with the Hntnienote, to make 
no lermH with them, and not to ohfterre th« terme he had made. 
He required that they should be punned to the death, that not 
one sbODld be spared under any pretence, that all prisoni^rs Ahonld 
aoflfor death. He threatened Charles with the punishment of Saul 
when heforeboreto eitarminaie the Amal«kit4%e. He told him that it 
waa hie mission to avenge the tnjtmee of the I^^rd, And tb/it nothinjir 
ta more cruel than mercy to the impious. When he iOAction^ the 
mmrdar p/ WtaMA be proposed that it «h(RtId be done in execution 
of hM acnieiioe i^nvt ber^ It became utttal with ihow who vnvdilat^ 
er ftffieide tfa the plM 0/ rWi^n to U>4fk ujMm ih^ 
0f Mome aa iM r naiufni admUmrg . « , . The theory 

_^ waa framed to ^^uati^r thaee praoticee haa done more than 

ploto attd masaacrea to caat Aiscredit on tbe Catholics. This tlit^ory 
waa IS fc>nows;^ Confirmed heretics muet he ri^orgnatj panieb^ 
vheaerer it can be done without the probability of gt^eater evil 
10 teH^ea. Where that is feared, the penalty may be au^pendod 
fir ctelayed £cir a seaeon» prorided it be ismioted whenever the danger 
is pasL Treatiae made idth bereties, and promiaea ^ivea to them, 
MHl not be kapt, beoaiue sinfal promi^!; do not bmd^ and no 
•ifreement ie lawfiit which may injure reh^n or eccleaLietici^ 
floUlority. Ko eivjl powor may «nter into engai^ements which impede 
II16 free aoope of the Church's law* It is part of the paBi^Kkflnt 



1 A Mtflit UmU m C^fsin* liieii, fdl. 17. 



w 



TEK iBffmrt W «l&iT nlTAZB 



of heretioi ihftt fftith iliall not be k«pt with them. 
Qkftrcj to kill them, thmt they may sm no more/* ^ 



It it tfTAD 



Under saoh circamstanceB fts these, is it to b« wondered 
at that plots for tbe assas^natioii of prozmneni Frot^stanta 
become common in the sixteenth c^nturj ? What eU^ could 
he expected in England when mo^er of heretics, withoat 
trial, was approTed in the Papal Court itself? And who 
can blame the Qoremment of EHisabeth for taking very 
stem measures indeed against the men who were known 
to be associated with TOch a Court as that of Rome? I 
h^ye already referred to one assassination plot approved by 
Father Parsons. I have now to mention an attempt to 
murder Queen Elizabeth discorered in 1583, not because 
there is any evidence that the Jesuits gave it any assistance 
at the time^ but be^^use of the attitude towards it of the 
English Jesuits at the close of the nineteenth century. A. 
young gentleman named John Somerrille, residing in War- 
wickahire, excited, says Camden, by reading certain writings 
against the Queen and other excommunicated Princes, resolved 
that at any risk be would assassinate the Queen, It is 
said by modem Jesuit and other writers tbat he was insane, 
but I fail to End adequate evidence of this. One would 
hmve supposed that when he began talking about his evil 
intentions to the members of hla family, they would^ 
seeing his fierce determination, have put some restraint 
upon him to prevent bis jonmeying to London on such 
a dangerous errand^ unless, indeed, certain of them — as 
was afterwards alleged — were in favour of the foul deed 
being performed. On hb way to London Somerville certainly 
acted in a most incautious manner, boating as he went 
along of what he was going to do. The natural result was 
that he was arrested before he arrived at his joumey^s end. 
When committed to the Tower of London he made certain 



1 



I Artidti %y Sir Jabn (nflenrard* Lord) Actnii oa '^TLa MuHen ol St i 
BiTtboloDMw/' iVWM Britiik lUvieio. OctaWr, 1869. pp. Al^fiS. 



BTiAirai "CDirmsQU or thi WMm 



»1 



confrasiotis while on the r&ck, which led to the arrest of 
Edward Arden, his father- is -law, his mother-^in-law, his wife, 
and a priest named HalL The latter sared hb own hfe 
by giTiog erideace against his former frieTids^ in which he 
aSSnned that Arden had, in his presence, made a tow to 
put Elizabeth to death. Somenrille and Arden were sentenced 
to death, the ladies and the priest eacraped* Arden was 
executed, but SoraerriUe committed suicide in prison, though 
bis fiends declared that he was murdered therein. The latter 
theory is very improbable. It is not likelj that anyone 
would take the trouble to murder a man in prison, who 
was under sentence of death at the time. 

That Scmeryille certainly intended to assassinate the Queen, 
and would hare done so had he obtained a chance, there 
ean be no reasonable doubt. Arden seems to have been a 
onan of high personal character, and there is reason to fear 
that he was a victim of foul play. Camden, who certainly 
cannot be suspected of sympathy with the Romsjiists, says 
of Arden: — "This woeful end of this gentleman, who was 
drawn in by the cunning of the priest, and cast by his 
STidence, was generally imputed to Leicester's malice. Certain 
H is that be had incurred Leicester's hesyy displeasure ; and 
not without cause, for he had rashly opposed him in all he 
could, reproached him as an adulterer, and defamed him as 
a new upstart/^ ^ 

Whaterer may be the truth as to Somernlle and Arden, 
it is certain that neither of them was put upon his trial 
for religion. Indeed religion had nothing to do with these 
caaCB- Both men were accused of an effort to commit murder, 
and for tlmt^ justly or unjustly, they were sentenced to death. 
To make Confessors of the Faith and Martyrs of them is an 
outrage on common-senser Yet this is what the modem English 
Jeenits hare done! In their sympathy with Arden they hare 
^Ten him this high honour^ and assert that they would hftTe 



i*» mSaa^A. 4th •aitioD, p, 1S9. 



THI JEBmrS IN Q&IIT BRITIIX 



bestowed the same fame and glory on SoroerTille, if thay 
irere quite sure he did not commit smoide I In a ^' Catalogue 
of Confessors of the Faith/' issued by the Jesuits from their own 
printing-press at Roeb*nipton, occuis the following entry : — 

** Arden, Edwmri Tower of London. Hanged December 23, 
1583, ^proieeting hie innocence of every chajge, and decl&i^ 
ing that his only crime wa» the profession of the Catholic 
religion.' '^ ' 

On his trial " the profession of tbe Catholic religion ^* was 
not made an accusation against Arden, who was charged 
with haring eipreased approTal of SomerTille's design to 
murder the Qaeen. Brother Foley, S.X, the author of the 
official Becords of the English Jeaitits, further states:— 
" Rijshton*s Dlarif says it does not appear whether Somer- 
TiQfl strangled himself or was murdered by others. We do 
not therefore insert his name/'* that is, in the *' Catalogue 
of Confessors of the Faith/^ In the Index to the rolume 
I hftTe jnst quoted the name of Arden actually appears tbuB 
as a *' Martyr"!— "Arden, Edward {MaHyr m Tower).'' 
What was he a '* Martyr'' to? Am I justified in aasertiag 
that any Protestant who may have been unjustly put to 
death for attempting the murder of a Roman Catholic^ ia 
therefore a "Martyr" to the Proteetaiit religion, and a 
^^ Confessor of the Faith''? If I made such an assertion I 
fear my friends would begin to wonder in what direction 
my gympathiee lay. Our modem English Jesuits ought to 
be aehamed of themaelves for thus making religious capital 
out of a criminal trial. 

Soon after the eiecution of Somerville and Arden, William 
Carter, a printer and bookseller^ leaidiug in London, waa 
arrested, and put upon hia trial, on the charge of printing 
a book which enconraged Roman Caihotics to assassinate 
Queen Elizabeth, It was not the Er^it time Carter had been 
in trouble for printing and circulating books of a trattorooB 

1 M^ot^t #/ the En§fHh Frovintt, SJ. B; Hcerj Fulaj, &J., vol. Hi,, p. 800. 
* Ihid., f. SOL 



I 



I 



i 



mxwcunon or willux gabtu 93 

ehftrmcter. Strjp« sajs of him, that he **had diTers times 
been pat m prison for printing of lewd pamphlets, Popish 
•nd others, Against the goTemment. The Bishop [Ajhner of 
London] by his diligence had found his press in the year 1579 ; 
and some appointed by him to search his hoose, among 
other Papistical books, found one written in French, eotiUed, 
2V Innceency of the ScoUk Queen ; who then was a prisooer 
for l&ying claim to the Crown of England, and endeaTooring 
to raise a rebellion. A very dangerous book this was: the 
author called her * the heir-apparent of this Crown * : inve^hed 
against the late execution of the Duke of Norfolk, though 
he were executed for high treason : defended the rebellion in 
the north, anno 1569 ; and made very base and false reflec* 
tioBS upon two of Uie Queen^s chiefest Ministers of State, viz., 
the Lord Treasurer, and the late Lord Keeper, Bacon/^ ' 
**How this man got off now,** says Strype in another of 
his books, "I know not (surely by the mildness of the 
gOTerament), but it was his fate to come to a shameful end. 
For, four or fire years after, he was tried, cast, and executed 
as a traitor for printing a book, called, A Treaiise of 
SchisntJ*'* * For this offence, and so far as I can ascertain, 
for this offence only, William Carter was executed, on 
January 11, 1584. 

Referring to the book for printing which Carter was put 
to death, Qillow, in his BibUographieal Didionary of EnglM 
CatkoUcSj remarks: — "Through a similarity of title Camden, 
Strype, Wood, and others hare confused this work [written 
by Or^ory Martin] with the one for printing of which 
William Carter was executed in 1584. The latter was 
entitled A Brief Discours cwUayning eetiayKe Seasons why 
CaiMigues refuse to fo to Churchy Doway (though really 
printed by William Carter in London) 1580, 70 ff., dedicated 
to Queen Elizabeth by J(ohn) H(owlet), U.^ Robert Parsons, 
and bearing the running title of A Treaiise of Sehisvu. 

1 Steype*t Xdf€ •/ Bi$kop Jylmer, p. 80. £ditiM 1S21. 
- SkTfe'i Jnmmlt, t«L u., part u.. p. S72. 



94 



tax jiaDiTft III SMUT BRrr^nr 



PftraoBs pnbLifihed this work in refutation of that attributed 
to AJban Langdala/^ ^ This stst^ment of Gillow is cODfiraied 
bj Brother Henry Folej, SJ.^ who quotes the work in & 
list of Parsoi^^ writings. * Whether Pan^ons wrote the book 
or Dot^ he is evidently responsible for its seeing the light 
of day, and miist have approved of its teaching; According 
to Lingard the passage in it on which the prosecution relied 
was the following; — 

"Judith foUoweth, wbow godlf and con^Unt wisdom, if our 
Catholic gentlewotuen would follow^ Ihey might destroy HolofeniMf 
the master heretic, and ainaafl aU hU retinue, and never defile their 
religion bv cotumunicfitinj^ with them in jiny small point. 8h« 
came to please Holofemee, but yet iu her religioQ fib« would not 
vield so much as to ent of hie meatfi, but brought of her own with 
her, and toM him plainly, that being in hia houae, yet abe mnat 
serve her Lord and God still, de«iring for that purpose Uberty onca 
a day to go m a»d out of the gate. *I may not eat of that which 
tbon commandiujt me, lest I incur God's displeaatire,''** 

On this quotation Lingard remarks: — 

**At his [Carter'n] trial the pasaage quoted nbove was that alleged 
against him. By Holofemes, the master heretic, was under^UKtd, 
so the Crown lawyers contended, the Queen, and by the destruction 
of HolofemeSr was intended the Queen's death. Cvter replied, 
1st, By protesting before God, that he had ne\er taken the pasaage 
in that sense, nor ever known it to be so taken by otheia. ^d. By 
assertingf what every impartial man nitiet see, that it had a very 
diSerent meaning* Tha whole object of the author waa to warn 
bis brethren ogainat the sin of schism. For this purpose he advised 
the Catholic gentlewomen to imitste Judith ; as she abstaitied froin 
profane meats, so ought they to abstain from all commtinicaiion 
with others, iu a -wnrship which they beUevad to be scbismatical. 
By doing this^ they woald destroy Holofemes, The expression was 
metaphorical. By Holofemes was meant Satao, the author of heresy, 
and the enemy of their salvatioUr whom they would overcome by 
their coni^tancy in their religion, and their rejection of a schism&tical 
service. But Carter's reasoning was not admitted, and he auffered 
aa a traitor After an attentive perusal of the whole tracts I cannot 
tiad in it the smallest foundation for the charge." * 

I gire this defence of Carter in fiill^ for what it is worth. 
It ts very ingenious, but, on inspection, not very conTincing. 

■ JtMOrdi 0/ tkt &MffU4k Prawim^, SJ, tol. vi.. f. b£0. 

> Lingird'ft Hittorf a/ Sm^tmtd, toL nii,, pp. 4Sf, iSO. Sditioi, 1B4C 



i 



\ 



JVDITH AVD HOLOri&NBS 



96 



For, first of aU, Judith did not ** destroy Holofernes" by 
refuBiog to eat his meata, btii bj stniplj cutting off his 
headf which the Roman Catholic gentlewamen of Elizabeth's 
ticoe could Dot do to Satan^ either litcraLlyj or metaphoric- 
allj, since in the latter case be would cease to eiist. In 
the Apocraphical Book of Judith we are told that whOe 
*^Holofemes laj on hia bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly 
dronk/^ Judith '^went to the pillar that was at his hed^ft 
bead, and loosed his sword that hung tied upon it And 
when she bad drawn it out, she took him by the hair of 
his head, and said: Streoj^then me, Lord God, at this 
hour. And she struck twice upon his neck, and cut off his 
bead, and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled 
mway bis headless body** (Judith, Chapter XUl, 4, 8—10. 
Douay Version). That is how Judith ** destroyed Holofemea,'' 
and the ^- metaphorical ^^ interpretation of the Jesuit Parsons* 
advice to Roman Catholic women will not bear examination. 
Lingard^s suggestion that by abstaining from ^^a worship 
they believed to be schismatical " they would ** destroy " 
the devil, is absurd on the face of it* 

It must not be forgotten that at this period plots to 
aaBMeiQate Elizabeth were multiplying on every hand, thus 
making it dangerous for the Government to tolerate even 
T«ilcd suggestions of murder. Only a few months before 
tbe trial <^i Carter a book by Dt, (afterwards made Cardinal 
through the efforts of the Jesuits) Allen, had be^n printed 
abroad, and secretly circulated iu England, containing similar 
veiled suggestions, under corer of Old Testament illustrations 
— the killing to be done, howsTer, under the orders of the 
priests or their Church. From thiij exceedingly rare work 
1 take the following extracts* The italics are miue: — 



** But the office and eeal of good prl&ats is noteably recommended 
unto OS, in the depo«iiian of the wicked Queen Alhali&h, 8he, 
to obtain the Crown after Ah&dah, killed aU his childreEi; only 
one, wliich by a certain good woman's piety waa Becretly with- 
drawn from the maaaacre, aaved and brought up within itie Temple 
lor aeven yean' space; ail which time the aaid Queen usurped the 



96 



THS JBSUITfl m O&XAT 9BltAIIi 



Kingdom; till ftt Ungth Joboiwl*, the High Prievt^ bj opportuoitr 
cjUM to liim foEcea tioth of the pne^ts And people; proclAim««i th« 
rigKlhmt- UiAt WM in hi»cueUxiy; auoint-ed and crowned him King; 
and cammed imv\f.duitely the pret^Mied i^wfifi (tioiwith«t«ocliii^ she 
eried 'Trwison, Tr©*»on,* as not only just po«sei8ora but wicked 
OfturperH use to do) to he sibiii wUk A<y fauUrt mi k^ <wn Court 
gate, Thu$ do prietU deoX atkd jwige for the ionooe&t nnd I^wfol 
PriTic(<a (when time reqtiirotb) ffiuch to theu- honest, nnd u^rtva^l* 
(o their kmlf calling. 

"No tD«D CAU be i^orant how atoutlj Elio^ (being «ouKht to 
death by Achab and hia Qoeen Jesab«(l tbat ovorthrew holy alt&n, 
uid Mi^cred a^ the tnie religioua Ihat could be found in th«r 
land) told thc^m to their face, thftt not he or o^er men of Ood 
wbom tbey persecoted, but tbey and their bouse were the diiturbera 
of Imei; and alew in hia leal all the said Je&abelV false prophatft, 
fostered »t her tftble, erea k>\u baodred at one tiine^ *iad eo eet 
up holy altars Af:&iti*" ^ 



The application of these Old Testament examples must have 
boen obvioua to every ItoDaao Catholic reader of the period. 
There was no need for Allen to name Elizabetb. In the 
opinion of Allen and bis Jesuit fiends she was, like **thd 
wicked Queen Athaliah," only "the pretended Queen, *^ since 
Pope Pius V. had, in 1570, deposed her from her thronei 
and absolved ber sabjecia from their oaths of allegiance; 
and I daubt not ih«t be and ibej would have thought it 
^ much to their honour, and agreeable to their holy calling/* 
to bare ordered her *^to be sl&in with her fautors at her 
own court gatc^.*^ Nor do I doubt that, if the Spanish 
Armada (which a few years later came to the shores of 
Englandf with the intention of making Allen Cardinal Arch- 
biaht^ of Canterbury) had succeeded, it is Tery probable that 
he would have ordered tb« Protestant " Je^abel *' to be put 
to death, and have slain *' in his Keal ^^ all ber Bo-called 
** false prophets/' the unrepentant Protestant Ministers of the 
time, ^^ and so set up holy altars again *^ for his own priests 
to say Mass upon. To prevent his readers Bupposing that 
the priests of his Church had less power than those of Old 
Testament times, he added: — ^*And this it was m the Old 






I 



IMTILOPIIIHT OF TBI JBUIT PLOT 97 

Law. Bat now in the New Testament, and in the time of 
Chmt*8 spiritoal kingdom in the Church, priests have mmek 
mpre soxoereign authority^ and Princes &r more strict charge 
to obej, lore, and cherish the Church."^ 

And now it is time for ns to go abroad again, to watch 
the derelopment of the great Jesuit Plot for the subjugation 
of England. Their plans had been greatlj disturbed by the 
arrest of Francis Throgmorton, one of the most sealons of 
the friends of the conspiracy. In the month of November, 
1583, he was arrested, when there was discovered in his 
house two papers which revealed to the Government the 
plot which was on hand. At first Throgmorton denied every- 
thing, telling lies on quite a wholesale scale. He was then 
pnt to the torture several times^ and at last revealed the 
truth, giving full details as to the plans of the conspirators. 
Anyone who now reads his confessions, ' and compares them 
with the third volume of the Calendar of Spanish State 
Papers^ edited by Major Martin Hume, and other docoments 
whioh have first seen the light during recent years, cannot 
fail to be convinced of the truth of those confessions. Tet, 
strange to relate, at his execution Throgmorton denied the 
troth of what he had confessed, thus dying with a lie upon 
his lipsl 

The arrest of Throgmorton frightened greatly the leaders 
of the {dot living on the Continent, who had to alter their 
plans now that their most cherished secrets were revealed 
to the English Government. But they did not abandon their 
enteiprise, though they had to wait for the Spanish Armada, 
in 1588, before anything really practical was attempted. 
On January 16, 1584, Allen and Robert Parsons sent in 
vrriting to the Pope a statement of the position of afil^rs 
in Kngland, a copy of which was also forwarded to Philip II. 
These traitors were very urgent that a foreign army should 
invade their native land without delay. They concluded 

1 J True, Simoere md Modett Defence of Inglitk Cttkoliee, p. 95. 
> ffarieism UiMoellmmy, toL iii., pp. 182—198. 

7 



98 



TBI JBSiriTS ttt ORBAT BBITAHt 



th^ir statement as presented to Philip 11, with these words: — 
" Wherefore, casting ourselTes at hia Mftjesty'a feet, we 
entreat him for the love of Jesus Christ not to abandon so 
manj afflicted souls, who with hands upraised to beaven 
are in dailj expectation of his aid. The tune ia rerj favour- 
able now, and every day^s delay bringa ns great hurt and 
danger. Hence we entreat hia Majesty with all po^ible 
earnestness not to defer the execution longer than is necessary ; 
a prayer which we have been commanded by the Duke 
of Guise to offer to his Majesty in the Duke's name, who 
is more determined now than ever, and awaits only the 
good resolution of his Catholic Majesty.'" * The Papal 
Secretary of State, the Cardinal of Como, replied to this appeal 
on February 14, addressing his letter to the Papal Nuncio 
ia France: — "Our Lord (the Pope) has seen the writing 
which your Lordship sent me in cipher, and which was given 
you by Father Allen and Father Robert (Parsons) relating 
to the affairs of England. Ab a like writing has been sent 
to Spain, I have nothing more to say than that nothing has 
been nor will be wanting on the side of his HoLness lo 
promote earnestly and unceasingly with his Majesty the 
good auecdss of thie affair, and to do all that is possible to 
attain the desired end, and if the execution had been b 
our hands, Father Allen would have seen this some time 

»go."' . . I 

Mary Queen of Scots was kept well acquainted with the 
latest developments of the conspiracy, and entered into it 
veiy heartily. On March 22, 1584, she wrote from Sheffield 
to Dr. Allen: — **I mention this particularly, that you may 
know how necessary it is, when the tinae for action arrives, 
to send first of all a band of soldiers, English or foreign, 
to the place where I am detained, for my deliverance. It 
will be very easily effected, for tbe place is not fortifled, 



) Ihid.t f}, Ixiii. 



Qosm habt's doublb dxalihg 99 

and the garrison is of no account." ' Bearing her know- 
ledge and approval of this plot for her deliTerance by an 
armed force in mind, it is somewhat startling to find that 
only a few months later she denied all knowledge of it; 
calling the Holy Name of God to witness to the truth of 
her fiedsehood. On September 2, 1584, Mary had a con- 
Tersation with Mr. Sommer, in the course of which he told 
her that writings had come to the knowledge of Queen 
Elizabeth, "wherein is spoken of an enterprise in England, 
tending for her [litary^s] liberty, and increasing of her son's 
greatness, and so meant to come to her, hath both greatly 
offended her Majesty, and given her cause to think that 
ahe, the Scottish Queen, is a party in that enterprise, 
whatsoever it is." To this plain and truthful accusation 
Mary falsely replied: — *' And as to the enterprise you spoke 
of, by my troth I knew not nor heard anything of it; nor, 
$0 God have my soul^ will ever consent anything that should 
double this State." * 

Notwithstanding her assurances as to the past, and her 
promises for the future, we find Mary, a few weeks later 
writing again, on October 80, to Dr. Allen, exhorting him 
to greater diligence in forwarding the enterprise for the 
invasion of England and her deliverance from captivity. 
"Do you," she said to him, "go on soliciting the long- 
looked-for supplies with all the diligence you are able .... 
I should wish our most holy Lord [the Pope] and the Catholic 
King to be assured that while on the one hand things are 
now ripe in England [for the invasion], on the other they 
are so nigh to hopelessness that if help be put off beyond 
next spring, all will be lost, and there will be nothing good 
to look for in our days." ' 

In the month of September, 1584, the Jesuit priest 
Creighton was on his way by sea to Scotland, on a political 

1 Mecordi of Engluk CmiAolie*, toI. ii., p. Izir. 
> Sadler*! 8M4 Fapert, toI. iii., pp. 147, 148. 
* M0eerd$ of B^Utk Cmikoliei, vol. ii., p. Izx. 



I 



100 TBt JtSCm DT OBSAf iEITAtV 

en^nd, when trnfortunatelj for hina, the vessel m which he 
was sailiag woa <^ptured, ftnd eYeniualty he found himself 
a prisoner in the Tower of Londoo. When captured he 
was obeerred tearing Dp som« papers which he threw from 
him towards the sea. Hap]>ilj the wind threw them back 
again , The j m ere caref o lly pieced toge ther , when th e j 
were foond to contain a full and most itnportetit discorerj 
of the great political plot for the destruction of Protestantism 
in England and Scotland, by force of arms; as agreed upon 
by the chiefs of the conspiracy* This document was finst 
printed in ejetenao^ hj the Rev. Thomas Francis Knox, D.D., 
of the BroDipton Oratory, in the eecond Tolume of hia ■ 
Record of English Catholics- The document was written about 
two years before the capture of Creighton. It is too lengthy 
to reprint here; but as showing what the Pope and the 
Jesuits were aiming at, I must call attention to a few of 
its more important points. In a list of the objects aimed 
at by the enterprise, this document named:— *' Lastly and 
especially to depose her Mftjesty, and set up the Scottish 
Queen, which indeed m the scope and white (sic) whereto all 
this practice doth level/' ^ It is stated that ^Hhis enterprise 
parlictdarly hath been imparted to the Scottish King and Queen"; 
and it was reckoned that " if the Pope and Spanish King 
afford the desired forces " then, as soon as the foreign forces 
were landed in Scotland, the Scottish King in person would 
at once ^^ march towards England, where, assisted with the 
Catholics of that realm^ which are many in number, they 
may be able to prevail/* **There is a Bishop to be created 
by the Pope to come with them to make priests, absolre 
and excommunicate. This should be created Bishop of 
rhirhanjr for that in those parte they are Catholics.** What 
would happen to the niihappy English Prote-stants, and also 
eren to those Roman Catholics who should bear arms for 
Elizabeth against the invadera, is clearly seen in the following 



I 



THE JtSVW CBEtQilTONii COKfESSlONS 



101 



stateraent:— "When they shall enter into England the 
Pope's excomiisunication is lilcGwise to be proclaimed^ which 
ahaJl be renewed, deeWing her Majestj, &c., and that all 
such as hear arms in her behalf shall be guilty of treason^ 
and shall be held for such, unless thej come to join with 
tlie army of tha ScottiBh Qu^en in England by such a 
certain day, itnd they shall nol only lose their lives^ but aim 
<Ut ihere p<^sii€ssians^ lord^bip9, and lands shall be ^iven to 
the next of their blood/^ ^^The gre&t and rich cities for 
the most part, as Newcastle, York, and stich likef are all 
full of Catholics^ who will repair to the army, so as they 
skall be victorious without dn^wing sword; and aU the 
Catholic Lords and gentlemen of those sfairea will unite 
themselves unto theru ; which we say not by conjecture, 
bat know assuredly that they will do it, although (hfi/ dare 
no moTB trust any body in the world but only their priests, 
who ar9 already dispersed throughout all the shires of the 
realm/^ 

WMe in the Tower Creighton made several important 
confessions, which are rtipnnt^d in substance by Father Knox. 
1 Lave modernised the spoiling. 

" WiUiafn Creiyhtcm^s Cotifesaion — what he had beard spoken, 

"li Wju determined at Rome, the Duke of LeonoT sliould attempt 
the delive^ of th<j Scottish Qm^eo. Tbe plot set down by the 
Biishop of Dumblaue ioucUluj; 8t-otltLnd. and by kd Engliah gentle- 
man coDC«rDiQf!f EnglAiid, The Pope Mud King of 3p«in Bhould 
fumiah the Duke with 10,0(X> men, Spaniards and French, They 
to land at Dumbarton; on tbe borders of ^cntland to join witli 
the hsjiiahed Lorda of £n|;^L«ind. The Duke oI'Lentiox would have? 
wilh him the greatest part of the realm. The Duke of Guide bUonid 
JDvmde the south of Enjjlnnd with 4(J0O or 6000 men, He ahoold 
be reoetvod ihere %nd should p&£« to Li>odoD ; her Majesty's forces 
beine occupied in tbe north, 

"That the matter pleased the Pope, hut the enterprise too ^eKt 
for bfm aloue, JJe would willinsly jtnn with thy HpaniBh King, 
The King aiwwered he would coucur wheo lime should serve. Tb© 
eciL«rpri»e iAiled by the death of the DukeofLeimox, Hetupp9$fth 
th^ intention remaineik, 

'*Plot3 preseuied to the Duke of Guise to land in tbe porta of 
BngUjid nearest France, to pads with ^her boata. OtAera of 



102 



THK JBSUITS IV O&SIT BStT&IN 



opinion he ehould be^iu ae&r Scotl&tid. The English confederates 
tbftl he should attampt on tbe co«et of EngWd to deliver the 
Queen [Mary Queen of &cot«], being aaaured of her religion. The 
BcoUiidh King beinji; consUni in hb religion^ no tniBt to be put m 
huxL, Neither woald ihej m&ke this ezp>eDae to advance him. 
That the Pope should coDtribuie the fourth part of the charge^ 
and Ifae Spaniard the reak The King continued an unpoaitioa 
upon the clergy of Spain for that fourUi part." 

** WUllam Creighton'a second Confession. 

"That be received the discourses^ Latin^ Italian, Rnd French, 
of hia Superior at Paris [Father Knox in a footnote »aya thia waa 
F. Claode Mathiea. S.J., Provincial of France}, Ue suppoeeth hia 
Supenor had tbem of the Duke of Gui^, vbo uaed him fAmiH- 
arly. The Latin diacour^ did contain s condolence of the Scottish 
Quepen's Jon^ imprbonment and sickness, ©tc» Her constancy in 
the Catholic faith. What dili|:ence she should uf>e to reetore that 
fiaith, renta and liberties ecoleeiasticaL And the Hke for the con- 
venion of her aon, the King, to that faith. If he should peraiat 
obatinate* to giTe him her malediction/* 




** The effect of CrtigJiton's third writing. 



''His conference wiih the Pope was only aa foUoweth 

there waa no Catholic service pubfic in any part of Scotland. Ho^- 
little hope there was of the reduction of that realm. Of the King's 
education in religion. The best way for hi* Holiness was U> aouiifih 
^entlemetiV aonf? in Cathclic Bchools, and to augment the renlA of 
the ieminaries. That at his return to Lyons he was visited by an 
English gentleman called ArundeK That the author of the Italian 
disoounse shall barflly be found out; but in the margin he noteth 
Qeon^e QoSbert/* (Knox thinks it should he Gilbert.] 

**TUat at hifl firat return into Scotland he bad in cb^u^e by bis 
Oeneral to sound the disposition of the natiou for the receiving 
eX Jefluils. At bis return he declared he found no entertainment 
fof men of hia Order and profeBsion/' ■ 

When the facta revealed in the cnptured documents, and 
the confessioas of CreightoD, came to be considered hy the 
Government, it is not to be wondered ai that th^j were 
serionaly alarmed. The Jesuits and their friends were evidentlj 
going the best possible way to work to make it imposaihle 
for the Goveriitnent to grant them toleration, with safety 
to the State. The natTiral result of the diacoveried of their 
treasons, supported by the forces of Spaiii, and Francef 



I 



if#^^l 



^ lUeufiU Qf EnfiUh CmtAofict, pp. 43 £—434. 



ACT A0AIN8T THE JKSLTfTS 



103 



laAcked bj the money and blessing of tbe Pope, was to 
increase the sereritj of the laws agninst trajtors. The 
dangers of tbe times required siriiigent measures to protect 
the country against the machLnatiDns of traitors and foreigDers, 
enemies of the State. Accordingly, in 1585, tiie Act of 27 
Elizabeth, Chapter 2, was passed against Jesuits and Semi- 
caries* It maj be well to reprint; here tbe ftrbt part of this 
Act; as giving the reasons for passing it: — 



**Wh<Teaa diveni persons cAlled or pfofeesed JesuiU, seminnty 
priests, Aod other priEsata, which have been, ^iid from time to 
time are made tti the parts beyond tbe fteai^ by or according to 
tiie order of the Romish Oliurchj htL\e of late years come nnd 
been sent, and daily do come atid Are e«pnt, into (his re^^im of 
£ngla&d a-od other thi« Qu»en'& MojeaLy'd dominions, of purpose 
{aa baa appeared by 8imdry i»f their own examiaatioii^ and cod^ 
f&MtODB^ as b3' diven^ other manifeBt meana aud proofa) not only 
to withdraw her Hij;hoeti8'e aubjecU from their due obedience to 
her Majesty, but also to stir up and move eeditvon, rebellion, and 
open hostility within the aame her Highnesd'a realtns And domi- 
nioiu, to the great endangering of the safety of her mo&t Royal 
penon, and by the utter ruin, desolation, and overthrow of the 
whole realm, it the same be not the sooner by some good tueans 
fore»eeD and prevented* 

** For r«form&Uan whereof be it ordained, eatabliahed, and entu^ted 
by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, aud the Lords Spiritual 
and temporal^ and the CummonD, In thi^ pretient Farliameut 
aMembted, and by the authority of the same FarHtiment, that all 
and every Jesuitfi, Heminary pneats, and other prip^ta whatsoever 
made or ordained out of the realm of En^l'^ii^i ^Jid other her 
Highness'ii dominionii, or wUhin any of her Maje-<ty'a realms or 
doniinions^ by any authority, power, or jurisdiction derived,challeQg- 
^df or pretended frona the Bee of Kome, since the feiaet of tha 
Nalivitj of St. John Baptist iu tbe firat year of her Highnea«'a reign, 
shall within forty days next after the end of tbia present sesflion 
of Parliament depart out of this realm of Eugland, and out of 
all other her HighneaaV dominions, if tbe wind, weather, and 
nana^e Ahall #erve for the aame, c»r else so soon arter the end of 
ua »aid forty days aa tbe wind, weather, and passage aball so aervo, 

"And be it further enacted by the authority aforeiaid, that it 
■hall not be lawful to or for any Jesuit, aeminary priest, or other 
auch prieflt, deacon, or reli^oua or eocieeiastical person what^oeverr 
being DOTO within thie realm, or any other her Highneas** dominions, 
and heretofore since tho said feaat of the Nativity of St, John 
Baptist, in the £rst year of her Majesty's rei^, made, ordained, 
OF profeaaed, or hereafter to be made, ordained, or professed, by 
any authority or juriadiction derived, challenged, or pretended from 
Iba S«« of Home, by or of what name, title, or degree soever the 
aaane ihali be called or known, to come into, be, or remain la 



104 



JBOm IS atUT BRn-AX!! 



any p»ri of this teilna, or Any other ber Uif^bnaflA'c dommionn, 
Afier the end of the same forty days, oth^r thou Qpoa such special 
oecfisioofl only, and fc»^ lucb time oniy, u ia expressed in this 
Act; %tkd if be do, th^t then er«r>' such offenoe ab&U be t&ken 
uid adjudged co be hij^h tre&son ; And every person so olfeodiijj; &b&ll 
for his oSeEKie be adjudged a traitor, and sball safer, lose, and 
Ibrfcit, oe m case of hi^h treason,'* 

To uSt in the twentieth centurj, a law like this seems 
Terj 9eTere» and almost. crueL Yet lo judge it aright it is ■ 
neceasary to bear ia mind the c ire urn stances ot the period, and 
the very real dangers to the State from the operations of such 
a rerjr dangerous body of conspirators residing in the country. I 
Since then many Roman Catholic States bav-e had to expel 
the Jesuits with far less reason, A modern Roman Catholic 
writer very justly remarks that: — ** If it had been possible 
for any one to convince Elizabeth that his CathoUci^m was 
such as Bossuet's was to be, and only auch, the Queen 
ought, on her own profession, to have tolerated such a 
person, as she did in fact grant toleration to Sir Richard 
Shelley in 1582. But when both sides, both Philip and 
Cecily were equally convinced that every fresh conyert, how- 
ever peaceful now, was a future soldier of the King of 
Spftin against Elizabeth, toleration was scarcely possible/'* 
What this writer says of the perverts to Roman Catholicism, 
may be applied with far greater force to the Jesuits of that 
period. They were as dangerous to the State then as 
Anarchists are in the twentieth century. 

Early in 1585 the Duke of Guise withdrew from the 
military leadership of the proposed enterprise. He was busy 
at the time in the affairs of the infamous '* Holy League/' 
of which he was the leader, and under whose guidance the 
civil war against the Huguenots broke out in the following 
April. The new military leader of the English enterprise 
was the Duke of Parma, at that time Governor of the Low 
Countries, Of this infamous man Motley writes : — -^ IIan>;iug, 



I Simpwa's Edwuiitd f?j«i^««fl, p. 1P0. Fint aditi^a* 



THI DUKI OP PARMA^S CHARACTER 105 

drowning, borningf and butchering heretics were the legi- 
timate deductions of hia theologj. He was no casuist nor 
pretender to holiness; but in those dajs everj man was 
devout, and Alexander [Parma] looked with honest horror 
upon the impietj of the heretics, whom he persecuted and 
massacred. He attended Maas regularly — in the winter 
mornings bj torchlight — and would as soon hare foregone 
his dailj tennis as his religious exercises. Romanism was 
the creed of his taste. It was the religion of Princes and 
gentlemen of high degree. As for Lutheranism, Zwinglism, 
Calrinism, and similar systems, they were but the fantastic 
rites of wearers, brewers, and the like— an ignoble herd, whose 
presumption in entitling themseWes Christian, while rejecting 
the Pope, called for their instant extermination." ' It was only 
a few months before the leadership of this new English enter- 
prise had been giren to Parma, that Balthazar Gerard, encour- 
aged by the adrice of Jesuits, and by promises of pecuniary 
reward from Parma, had assassinated that grand Protestant 
hero, William the Silent, on July 10, 1584. Parma had 
termed it a "laudable and generous deed," and under his 
adrice the parents of the murderer were enriched by Philip IL, 
and raised at once to a place amongst the landed aristocracy ! 
Such wa3 Parma, the bloodthirsty butcher, to whom 
Robert Parsons hastened for advice and help in the conspiracy 
against his own country. On February 5, 1585, Allen 
wrote to Mary Queen of Scots :—" Your Maje^sty is advertised 
by better means and more speedy than I can hare, for our 
resolution out of Spain, that the whole execution [of the 
English enterprise] is committed to the Prince of Parraa, 
and that Father Eusebius [Robert Parsf^ns], Mr. Hugh Owen, 
and myself, should deal with ho other person, but Holicit 
him only in your Majesty^s affairs; whereof the said Hugh 
Owen hath brought the King of Spain's fh:t<;rniiiiation to 
the Prince [of ParmaJ, who seemeth as glad as we that he 

* MoUey't B$4e of ike DmUk RepmUir. Par: ri„ C'LAp^r t. 



106 



Tn£ JtsuiTS rx gsut bbitaih 



maj have the ^fTectiaating of the whole matter, so glorioiMi 
ia the sight of God aitd mftn. Parma by order, as I take 
it, of the King of Spain, acquainteth none particularly and 
iiilly with these things but tnyself, Eusebius [Parsons], and 
Owen*" ' With Allen and the JesuitB " glad '" at the choice 
of such a leader as Parma, we can quite Lmagine what a 
fearful scene of slaughter would have been witnessed in 
England had these traitorous schemes succeeded. 

Parsons went to Fl&nders about mid- Lent, 1585, and 
remained there until the autumn, so aa to be within easy 
reach of the Duke of Parma. A spy in the employ of the 
Eaglish Qorernment, writing from Rouen, on August 13, 
reported that be had been informed by Thomas Fitzherbert 
(afterwards a Jesuit) tiiat ** Parsons id secretly in the camp 
of the Prince of Parma/' about the ioTasion schenie* ' In 
the month of September ParBons started for Rome, to deal witii 
the new Pope, Siitus V., who had been elected to succeed 
Gregoij XIII. on the prerioufl 24th of April A recent 
writer (Father Taunton) says that: — 

"One of the first occupations of Parsons after hia arrival in 
Rome was to write a book againat Elisabeth, whioh Allen wtt« 
weak enough to allow to oome out in bis owu name. It wn^ ibe 
book aMerw&rita k»owQ aa An Admonition i<» the Nobility ofni 
People of England ami Ireland concemhiff th^ prfseni Warft niade 
/or the ^€cuiio9k of Hi* HoUnu^s^' tetit^iea^ by the High and Mt^hly 
King Calholic of Spain. It ia a iMiurriloua und moat oAermive 
production; and its substance was reproduced in the broadidd©, 
A Decktraiion o/ the S^^Unu^i of Deposition of Kiit'ibftk the Usurper 
mid pTftfrifM Queen of Englami^ which waa likewiijc from Faraons' 
pen. These are undoubtedly the two works which Par»Dnfi alludes 
to as bJ8 own in the paper he gave to the Ntincio at Paria ja«t 
l^eforft ieavinR for Spain. It ib, of course, most probable that Atlen 
would havehnd domethinf^ todo with thelatter draft— but if the banda 
are the bands of Eeau, the voice is the voice of the Bupplanter. 
ThiB hook waa meant sa o preparation for the Armada; find Par- 
dons gave a copy of it to OJivares, who forwarded a euinoiary of 
it to Bpaiiu to leurn whelher the King appioved of its publication."* 



I 



I 



I 
I 



< ColendAr of State FaperM, Domcitic 15S0--lfl£S, p. 160. 
* TAe Huiury af tht Jrtitiii m tmgitnd. By the Rtr Elhdrrf h T«aotvB, 
pp. US. U4. 



THK " iDMOSFTEON TO ENGLAND 



107 



Some paraf^r&phs in the document were evidenilj abided 
Eliortly before the Spanish Armada started for Eagland, Father 
Watson states that Cardinal Allen conapiled the book, '*at the 
importunate suit of Father Parsoos* impudently urging hia 
Grace thereto/*' Lin^^rd i^aya of the book: — "Who that 
aathor was, soon became a subject of dlscu^on. The 
langna^e and the manner axe certainly not like those of 
Allen in his acknowledged works ; and the appellant priests 
boldly asserted that the book was ' penned altogether bj 
the advice of Father Paraona,* Parsons himgelf, though be 
twice notices the charge, seems by his evasions to acknow- 
ledge its truth {Stnftifestation^ 35. 47)." " Of the two works, 
Father Watson further says: — ** Of these books a great 
number were printed, b«t presently upon the orerthrow of 
the great InTincible Armada under their heroical Adlantado, 
Father Parsona, for ahame of the worlds and to the end 
that it should not be known how the expectation of the 
false prophet was frustrated, procured the whole impression 
to be borut, saring some few that had been sent abroad 
beforehand to hia friends, and such as had otherwise been 
conveyed away by the printer, and others in secret wise. 
Some whereof, ferrying over the main, were wafted into the 
South Ocean shores; and cast on land, came to divers their 
hands that durst not avouch their harbour. One Father 
Currey, a Jesuit, speakiug in a faint bravado of that book 
%a a secret friend of mine (who durst not he known to 
favour me) said that ^it was a work of that worth, as it 
woold yet bite in time to come * ; and that if by conjuration 
or otherwise^ the Queen or the Council (especially the Lord 
Treasurer whom be named in chief) could ha^e any inkling 
where it were, they would not leave one atone standing upon 
another in the house where it should happen to be heard 



1002, p. £40. 



108 



THE JEBUrrS Iir QMSLkt filllTlIV 



of^ bat blow it up, or consume it all to asbes before tb«j 
would imas of it.'' ^ 

In this way the Admon it ion soon becAm e ei ceed ingt j 
acarce, &9 did also tbe brief DeciariUion. Fi&ther Tiemej, 
writing iu 1840, a&ys that ^* few of either seem to bave 
e^ap^d." ^ The Admoniii4?n was Tepriotedi in facsimiley 
in 1842, under the editorship of the Rev, Joseph Hendham, 
who, in his preface remarks: — **The profound silence of 
all the principal Papal historians, in all languages, in 
Allen's time, and likewise of his professed biographers, 
respecting so deliberate, Ttgorous, and characteristic a work, 
as that under consideration^ is certainly, though natural, 
remarkable. It cartainly iy remarkaliie, that in ^ofessid 
lists of the writings of the Cardinal, by the historian of the 
Popes and Cardinals, and by the later English historian, 
who ought to know more about his own countryman, no 
mention whatever occurs of the Admomiton.'^ * Mr. Mend- 
ham's reprint of this scurrilous book has now, in iimef 
become very scarce, and is seldom to be met with. 

A. few extracts from this Adt/tonilion will make clear to 
ns more, perhaps, than anything else, the spirit which 
moved these conspirators. To read its pages one would 
suppose that Queen Elizabeth was the incuraation of all the 
vices, and the greatest uionater who ever sat on any earthly 
throne. The author declares that England ** might by way 
of rigour and extreme jutttice, be Iwth charged and chastised 
far more deeply tli&n the Church of Thyatira for tolerating 
the wicked Jezabel " (p. v.). The Pope, he aSBrms, '* only 
m^aneth in Chriat^s word and power given unto him, to 
purmie the actual deprivation of Elir^abeth, the pretended 
Queen, eftsones declared and judicially sentenced by his 
lloiinesB^ predecessor, Pius Quintus, juid Gregory XIU., for 

' WbIwb'i Decaffffrdam, p. Sin, 

* Tiwney'i Dadd*M Ckurth Rucitrry, ToL iii p. £3. noU, 

* Cardinaf Jfi^*t Adwoniiicm. With prt:iact; bj Eupiior. Lopdon . Duncw & Oo^ i 
1S4i, p. iv. 



I 



I 



■XTEA0T8 raOK THB " ADXONITIOH ^* 109 

sn heretic and usurper, and the proper present cause of 
perdition of millions of souls at home, and the very bane 
of all Christian Kingdoms and States near her*^ (p. vii). 

''Orer and besideB that she never bad consent nor anj approba- 
tion of the 8ee Apostolic, without which ^ ihe^ nor any other e<m be 
lawful King or Queen of England, by reason of the ancient accord 
made between Alexander III., the year 1171. and Henry II. then 
King, when he was absolved for the death of 8t. Tbomaa of 
Canterbaiy, that no man might lamfulhf take that Crown, nor he 
aeeoimted ob Kieng^ till he were confifrmed by the Sovereign Piwtor o/ 
owr 9onUf which for the time should be. This accord ^lerwarda 
being renewed, about the year 1210, by King John, who confirmed 
the same by oath to Pandulph, the Pope's Legate." ^ 

^Bnt to accomplish all other impiety, and to show heveelf wholly 
sold to sin, she [Queen Elizabeth] bath now eighteen years stood 
stubbornly, eoDtamptuously, and obdurately, as in the sight of 
God, by her own wilful separation through schism and heresy, 
judged and condemned before, so now by name notoriously ex- 
eommonicated and deposed, in the word of Christ and omnipotent 
power of God, by sentence given against her by h<^y Pius V., 
the highest Ooart of religion under the heavens. The which state 
of exoommunication (though presently of the faithless, where there 
10 no sense of religion, it be not felt nor feared) is meet miserable, 
most horrible, and most near to damnation of all thtzin that may 
happen to a man in this life; far more gricTOus (satth a certain 

flonous Doctor) than to be hewn in nieces with a swcxd, oonsmned 
y fire, or devoured by wild beasts. ' 

"And finally to accomplish the measure of all her inhuman 
cruelty, she hath this last year barbarously, unnaturally, against 
the law of nations, by statute of riot and conspiracy, murdered 
the Lady Mary, of famous memory, Queen of Scotland, Dowager 
of France, God*8 anointed, her next kinswoman, amd by law and 
right the true owner of the Crown of England." » 

*' Fear not, my dear countrymen, fear not, one generation is not 
jet past since this wickedness began; trust now in God, and in 
this self generation it shall be revenged, and in the person of this, 
the aforesaid King's [Henry VIII.] supposed daughter (in whose 
parents' coocapiscence all this calamity was conceived) shall be 
both punished and ended." * 

"Sliseus caused Jehu to be consecruted King, and the bouse 
of Aohab to lose their right to the Kingdom, and his son Joram to 
be slain; by whose commandment cursed Jezabel was afterwards 
thrown out of her chamber window into the court, and after eaten 

^ CarHmftl AlUn^a Admonition, Witb preface bj Bapttor. LondoQ: Dancan &Co^ 
1843. p. ix. 

* /fiuC p. xxri. 
' Ihid.^ p. xxvii. 

* Ihid., p. zxix. A pretty pUii iDtimatio* of the ftte awaitiog Rliabctb, if 
ikm Anaad« Hieeecded. 



no 



THK JMUITS IH OHIAT BEtTiTF 



of dogflj in the Tery Mune p\ftce where ebe had comtnitted craeltj' 
and wickednead before. This JcEAbel for ttacnlege, contempt of 
holy prieattij rebclHon f^aiiiBt God, aud crueltyj doth bo much 
resemble our E)i]uib<?th, th&t in most foreign countriea and wntinga 
of etranj^cTB she ia commonly c&lled hy the niune of JeEA-bel. J jbiow 
no( whtiher God have appointed her io a like^ or a beitei- end," ' 

"There is no war in the world »o just or hntiourahk, aa that 
which ifl waged for religion, whether it b@ tbrei^n or civil ; nor 
crima in Ihe world desarvinj^ more sharp and Eealoua pursuit of 
e^ctreme revenu;e, than falling; from the faith to strange religiona, 
whether H be m (he euperior or aubjecta." ~ 

^'It ifl clear that what people or person soever be declared 
rebeHiouB ngainst God'e Churchy by what obligalion soever, either 
of kindred, fTiendehip, loyalty, or aiibjection I be hound to them, 
I tnay, or^ rather^ mii^t take arms asziaiDfil thpm: nothing doubting 
but when tuy King or Prince hath broken with Christ, by whom, 
and for delence of whoee honour he relgneih, that then 1 may 
moat UwfuUy break with him*'' * 

"Therefore^ hnviu^ now through Ood*s merciful goodness, ftiU 
ajid sufficient help for your happy reconcileinent to Chriet's Church, 
und io deliver youraelvpe, your country, and posterity^ from thstt 
mlEerable aer\*itiide of body and aoul which you have long been 
iu, for the more easy achieving of thia godly detni^nment [l^y tneaua 
of the Spanish Armada], and for your belter information, his 
IfoliuP3fl confirroeth* reneweth* mid revivclh, the Sentence Decla- 
riilory of Pius Quinlui, of bleseed Gieniory, and the cenaura of 
all other hia predeoeasorsi and every branch, clause, and article 
of them^ ag^dnsL the said Elizabeth, as well concerning her illegiti- 
mation, and usurpation, and inability to the Grown of En^l&nd^ 
iLB for her excommunication and depoeiiion in respect of her heresy, 
sacrilege, and abominable life; nnd dii^ohargeth all naen from all oath, 
obedience, loyalty and fidelity towards her; reouirinj^ and deairiug 
in the bowels of Christ, and commandiug unuer pain of eioom* 
municatioH and otiier penaltiea of the law, and as they look for 
the favours (o them and their^^, afore promij^cd.and will avoid the 
Pope's, King'a and the other Princes high indignation^ that no 
man of what degree or condition soever, ohi^y, abet, aid, defend, 
or acknowledge aer for their Fnuce» or superior; but that r.11 
and every one, accordlni^ Lo thoir quality, caUingj and ability^ 
immediately upon intelligence of his Holiness' will, by Iheee my 
letters, nr otherwise, or at the arrival of hia Catholic Majeslys 
forces, be ready to join to the a^id army, with all the powers and 
aida they can make, of n]en, ninnition, and victuala, to help 
towards the refitoring of the Catholic faith, and actual deposing th« 
uaurper, in snch sort and placlt^ as liy the chief managers of thia 
affair, nnd the General of this Holy War shall be appointed," • 



■ Cmrdiital Jllen'4 AdmoHitiom, Vflth prefiic« hy Etipator. London : Duncan k Co., ^ 
1S43. p. zisiv. 

< Ihid,^ pp. lii, liii. 



THB rOPE 8 41>HTaATI0N OF SLtZiHBTB 



lU 



••Figlit not. for Qod'a loTe figbt not, in that quftrre! in which, 
if Tou die, you fcre sure to be damned, . , . Forsnte her therefore 
betimo, (b&t you be not enwrapped in her eins, ponishmentf And 
damnation. i.« Fi^ht fot your father's faith.*.. If yuu win, you 
8AT6 yonr whole realm from aiibvi^rgion, nnd innumerable eoula, 
present and lo come, ^om damnation. If you die, you be sure 
to be saved, the blefising of Chri^it and Hia Church, the pardon of 
kii Holineas, given to all in moet ample ^ort, that either take 
armi, die, or any way duly endeavour in this quarrel." * 

We lefl Parsons at Eomef where he arrived in the autumn 
of 1585 CD a vibit to Pope Sixfeus V, That Pope, though 
he did all that he could aj^aiost Queen Elizabeth, yet m 
his heart had a strange regard for her. lie told the Vene- 
tian Ambassador in Rome: — ^-She is a great woman; and 
were she only Catholic, she would be without her match, 
and we w^ould esteem her highly*" And again he said to 
the aame Ambassador r — ** She certainly is a great Queen, 
and were she only a Catholic &he would be our dearly 
beloved. Just look how well she governs; she is only a 
woman, only mistress of half aa inland, and yet she makes 
herself feared by Spain^ by France, by the Empire, by all/'* 
Parsons found Pope Siitus V. very willing to help on the 
grand scheme for the invasion of England, but he was very 
jealous lest Philip IL should become by it too powerful. 
He and Philip were not quite of one mind ae to who ahould 
become the Sovereign of England if the enterprise proved 
succesafiil, Philip wanted it for bimselfr or at least for his 
daughter the Infanta; while Sixtus was anxious, if he could 
not prevent this, yet at lea^t that tbe new Sovereign ahonld 
hold the Crown of England as vassal under himself, as the 
chief Lord of the land— thus renewing the ancient Papal 
claim to the Crown of England, a claim which I may here 
remark, has neTer yet been withdrawn by the Papacy. This 
controversy between the Pope and Philip was the subject 
of a c on versa ti on between th a Venc ti an Ambassador in 



lft*2. pp. \iv. It. 

« CMietuUr of VfrnHUm SMf Papert, ro\, viii., pp. Si4. Si&. 



U2 



run jssurrg m qrzxt aftiTim 



Spaia and the Papal Nuncio to the Court of Philip, early in 
1586. On February 22 this Ambassador yrtoU to tbe Doge 
and Senate of Venice: — 



J/^ 



here. His inetnictiooB are catijectured to have refereiicc to the 
expeditiou aj^iiiiiet England &nd tbe expedition {^gainst Genera, 
Mh of th^m eagm-ly d^Mrtd hy ih^ I'ope. Tlit* Nuncio, here resident, 
in oQuversatioa with me, remarked thaL if hia Holjaeea were aA well 
inform edfts Pope Gregory hftd been, he would know that p^rhap« both 
imdert*kin|{B were irapossible, both for ih© King of Spain as well 
ttA for any other Prince who tniKlU be allied with Mm. As I 
de«ifed further liffht on this point, the Nuncio sftid^ *ae for the 
ctnterpriae at^ainiit England, since it will be the joint work of the 
Pope, tbe £.iDg of l^pain^ and other alliea, thoy must firat detprmine 
wbo ifl to be the tsaaster of that kingdom when it Ib captured. The 
King of Spain, aa the most powerful of th'^ allien, and aa the larger 
contributor to tbe undertaking, will certiiiniy claim to be absolute 
mAater; while, on the other lumd, neither the Pope nor any other 
Prinee can consent to Buch an aggrandisement of the Bpaaiflh. 
For, although the Kin^ of Spain is very calm, and declares that 
he baa no deeire for what belong to otherfli Mill the opport^ini^ 
and the natural thirat for dominion, common to all, may quite 
Aoon produce such compUc&tk>ne that tbe remedy will be beyond 
the power of any to apply, Bhould he oome day desire to make 
himself lole Monarch of Cbriatendont. BeBides, eveu ^nnpositi^ 
Sooh thoughts to be absent from the King's mind, wno will 
piarantee that they may not occur to bie son.' 

" Jn short, the Nuncio's opinion is iliAt the resolution of thie 
point* if not impoasible, ia e^jceedingiy difficult, I aeked him what 
upinion Pope Gregory held on the subject, and he replied that 
im Pope wishrd Um whole deoimon to rati wiik himself, ajid ikai he 
9lUmld nams ike Matter of the Kingdom^ but thiit, later on, the Pope 
MW the impoa^ibility of anyone but the King of Spain holding 
the Kingdom for any len^h of time, and had contented to wrrend^ 
tJU iCinfffiem to hit Majesty in return f&r an annua/ /m." ^ 



1 fTtflniif^r of VeneHam Stale Fmpert, t«1, riii,, p. 141. Tbis laciewt cUia 
«f {he> Vojn'i to the Thrcae of Borland vm put farirard pfdiniaeDU; danniE tlie 
rvljrn of l^iiabetii. Cardinal Pule, in (he *' JnvtrDctioai" given by bini to tbe 
I'atti*^ Confesaor a( the Emptier, in Oetober, lEi58, referring ta tbe 11x^^11 ax- 
(>petrd rfltnm of tbe [»oplc of fisgliiad to obedience to the Fo^^ reioarki «»- 
PtfuUg th« litlfl of Mur^ to tbe Crown af Kaglaodi — "It vu«t be isoa»idend 
Ibal abe ia not aolj eall&rl tc it [the rcttitnUoa of her Klagdom to tbe obedioim 
•f the Fo^] b]r the rawarda of a futare hfe, hat aln bf thoH of tha |ii im lit 
viuldt iAwmacb as, fulio^ tbe aipport of the Holj See. ebe would «rt be 
ll^tiaiate hotr to the orovvat iw the mama^ at bor eaoihar wa« i»t valid bat 
^ a diapetintiQii at bti Holineu; » iLat ab«dienec to tba Hcdj See iaauruHuy 
^ wr Mf« her penref , 14 arc npon it de pcTiidf her rorj alaim to iht cfqitb/' 
^iM^tmdmr of Farei^ Suie Papen, IBSS— 16*8, p. SI.) 



THE BABIirOTOH CONeKJJtACT 



113 



Checked smd hinderetl in eyery waj by the vigilance of 
ihe Engliali 6 o ve r n m en t, the coosp irators at las t became 
iinpatient and desperate. They wanted a quicker and more 
decisiTe plan for bringiiig ihe enterprise to a successfol 
iaeue . A dagger run in to the body of Queen ELizabeih 
would at once remove their greatest difficulty. Men willing 
aod anxious to do the deed were soon found. They were 
not conioion hired assassins, but gentlemen of good social 
position, some of them of great wealth. Between them 
they hatched what is known in history as the Babingt-on 
Conspiracy. Of the fourteen gentlemen who were executed 



A leaned Ratufta Citltolic prieit, tlte Rei'. Cbirlea O'Couor, D.D., who wnto 
tarlj in tbe niiiet«iit)i caatury, iihitt itut: — ^'TUoogli Qantn Mary ^u k 
CalboliCt and « gloomy jiad periccntiog big^gt ■he wm, wbuiti Qver; Irbbmui 
Mutt abLcT, yet PtitI IV. infliiu6d tu d«pu9« her, bt^eitnve ihn h^ dsnd to 
aMua* t^ titl« of *(^Qnn of Ireland' withntu hii cfiiiHiiU He ui^ that It 
WlontfA^ to hun tlana to erect new ICiQi^daraiE^ or abolish the o\A\ that Jrelatii 
«w, hy butQND uid diflae light, the prt)|jcftf of th« Holy See; tbmt lie wu tb« 
a«ar«a*or of Uiom; nbo dopoHd Kiu|C» *nd Kinperoi^; knd that no MuoiU'cb ahodlA 
|ftlftft4 to la eqTjaJity with biin I With hli rc«b]« limbo, for tinw he wu iboot 
iil^jr yean old, he itAnped th« boardt of the Vnticui. *Aiid ill Oljrmpvi 
CnmiMttl Kt hit uod'l The Ques&'i Ainb«9ud<»n Ibnrw tbeoitclvei At hia fwt. 
««^ A« 0dmiU*d her t»tU, ■ot^ cmhUhxr auT^ thai U t^omiti be atswrnwdfrom kit 
eome^MMiou^ and that Peter pence, atid aU tbe ancient emotumefila of UomB ihoatd 
be rcatvrvd;' (Jn liUturiiuit Addrtu. by tbe Hot, C. O'Codot, D,D. 181«. 
part ii.. pi». 191$, 107 ) 

Oq the aitemooQ of July lit. 165^, the YeDctiiin Ambaaiador at Rtfiup, bad 
aa Intcririew vith Popo Paul IV, The Pope tbtn laid to biua; — "Tf^afdi^ed 
to wa^ war» ai we inapect, owing to th« dereitftiJ nature of Ihcao Imiteriatiiti, 
*r«, «ithoat the »)igbt«at Atraple, b^ • legitimate procea*. and by a HnUneci w» 
trem^addiia tbal it will Jarkea Ihe sdd, ihill dc|jrive (be Emperor tad 
ike k'tufi of Sitfiand, tu omr ««««/« vrbo have perpelnttd tvhoy aod nbeJ- 
Uoa* of all their retlias» rdeuiug the iubabUiDti from their u»th of allepanoe. 
pvia^ pari «f tbeir (errLtarin to tiioie who Bball occupy thein/* (VaUndar ff 
T^mHiMok State fapert^ tqI. vi. part i.« p, bi\.) k few moathi Utar tbe Pope 
■gjaia BpolEe to the Mme Ambaiaador od the laine eubjceC. wlteu ho oDoe more 
pal forth hU eUim to the tempural domiDioTi, not only of England and Ireland* 
bwl aJio of the Kingtioma of ^eplcA. and bai'diDU. And tbii It whit the Pope 
■aid oo tbit oeeaaian: — "The Iroie wu tn^uli: far ten dayi aod then prolDa^ 
far forty, allboogb the Pnhe of Alva wiihed to have it for a ranob longer tern 
^ Ota (.Ordinal will hava tuLd yua in detail) to oaable him to idvue Pbilip hia 
King aboat Xht** ibingi, lad to itccrvr; hU reply and deeisiion, which wc pmy 
til* Vnti Ood (who na do what to ua teem^ imi^oaiibU) U iiupire Ibeii; lu fona 



114 



THE jvmnrs itt qkxat bbitaik 



for the part tbey took in promoting this attempt at ass&^^mft- 
tioQ, no fewer than six were members of a Sodality, or 
Association, formed in Kn^land for the purpose of as^^isting 
t}ie Jesuit priests, of whom thej were the spiritual children. 
Their names were Anthony Babington, Chideoek Tichbourne, 
Charles Tilnej, Edward Abingdon^ Thomas SalbburyT and 
Jerome Bellamy."^ The remaining eight were John Ballard 
(a priest). Joha Sarage, Robert BamweU, Henry Dunne, 
Edward Jones, John Travers, John Charoock, and Ilobert 
The BabingtoD Conspiracy was in reality two murder 



tocorduig to tiicir datf« ^ruitia^ them nicJi TppcnUnce of their ^vTj ^vifttti 
oiTcn'^ mnd quiBg tbem to nuke tDr^h ^metidt ■• lo pat it ta uur jkowsr, wiikaut 
detnotijkg fmm ttw di^hy, to p^rdoa ud ibnivf them fmia liie eeutuPH ihvf 
hmv^ LDciirrHii, re«ifcaniiig to them mi mi*frujit what tbcy hAv« forfeited, for Uw^ 
•IV depriftid cnt ottlj uf iA4 jitft of tke VkurtsA, vkick arr the Kin^damt 0/ 
Nikple«» S*rliiiiiL, Km^i^tmd. Ifviamd, asd of jid loaiij priTiiega ia Spaii, canr<«ded 
to (b«n by the prodiplity of <nr predee«Mor« (Ga4 forfiTc them for il), 4tid 
vhi«h irveld xEboro tlun th« Rkii|:d>:)m [9I Kaplcsl, bat, mcrwtbr, of all tb&t th^j 
bftre aad poueti ui tbe wurld; and, inttT«OT«r, they are onwDrthjr to remaia oa 
the aar^." (CaUnJer ^f Ven^an Biott i^afwt, *wL »i., part, ii^ p. 8SS.) 

This uttfftj uajuflt «Iiim wu ajram pot forward ia l&BO by Pvpe Gregory XUI^ 
in the trcftty iutv Mhivh to then catcrad with tb« Kiu^ of bpaia and the Grand 
Bftke of Tnacany agaioat Kn^nd, the third article of which wat aa fbllofta:— 
**Ttiftt bii Haliaew, tt Sfverei^ Lord 9/ iht lalamd [of fin^I«ad] will grant 
to tha CaihoJio nohlaa of the KingJon ta alict a Catholic I^rd of tha Uland, 
wbOj nader U10 authoniy ^i th« A|KMt<i|]« 5e« wiU be deelarrd Kiuk, aod vka 
vill md«r obadiBDCfl and fcally to tha Apcatolte Sec« u ctLher Catholie Kio^ 
htv« doDd before the tinM of the Uat E«tify.*' {CaitndoF 0/ FfitHiam SiaU 
Pap^ft ¥oL Tii., p, 0(0.) 

Fape Sixtoa V. renened the elaJb in 13S7. TV: VciietiaQ A»hatKAor ia 
Rofoc, writing; ea Jtin« ST, US7j ttatc^ thM:— *'Th< Pope baa ukcn oceaaiw 
to my that if the King of Spaiu will nndertaka the Miterprtte affai&tt Ea|3:land 
ha will farai^ hira, an thii lapdiDi^ of troopa in thai KiD|q;dvm, 600^000 crowna. 
and 70.000 a month aa long aa the war lasti, Aui im amditwn ikai the stntiiwIUM 
kt U4 Cfovn q/ Enfiamd lAtm/d mi wHA iJke Fopt, &ni ik«t tk* KU^dom of 
Btflamd is neoffMiMed ^ » /ef cf U« CJhtrek." iC^ti^mdar of Fgmttimm SimU 

Sir J<^D TbroekmortoQ, a R'^man Catholic Harwaet^ «ritiD£ ia l?H, resMifha:^ 
" Mr. MHner rannat have for^tejt that even ainn the Khifla of ffonry VIIIjl. 
the ambitton of Haioe has ciatmed the laiperta] Crown of England, la «□< of her 
feudatory dcpettdeiid«a,*' [A Sectmd Letter to the CatAalic C(.erfy ^f Kmgimm^, 
By John Thfttckaiorioo* Ib^r. [aftorwarda Sir John] LonJan* 1791, p< 42.) 

^ Sltapaon'* Campum, ]i1 fditioa, p. UT. 



I 



I 



I 



I 



A£SA8S[NATI0N " BT POISON 0& BY BTffKL ' 



115 



plob TDeiged into one. The first was that undertaken bj 

rSavage at the instigation of ft prieat named Gilbert Qifford. 

[This Gifford had beea educated for the priesthood (to which 

jLe was ordauied, March 16, 1585) first at Rbeims, and 

Afterwards in the English College, Rome^ then under the 

control of the Jesuits, There he was a ringleader in the 

diaturbancea i^ainst the Jeeutie, and was expelled bj them 

for misconduct. Gifford acted as one of the GoTerument 

spies, and although Savage was the dupe of this unprincipled 

scoundrel, this cannot be said of the others, at least not to 

the same eitent. 

The priest Ballard was introduced to Mendoza, at Paris, 
eartj in Haj; 1586, and revealed to him the plan which 
be had formed to assa^nate Elizabeth. A partj bad been 
organised in England to undertake the deed, and these sent 
raessages to Mendoza, who, on May 12, wrote thus to Joan 
De Idiaquex: 

"1 b^ you to have the following verj carefully deciphered nnd 
pot it into bis Majesty'^ own hands. It is written and ciphered 
ij tne p^rflonaliy. I am adrtaed froTn EngUnd by four men of 
pCMition who have the niu of the Qupen'a hoiiAe, that ihej have 
ai«oti«84Ml for the laat throe rooolh« the inlention of billing her. 
The^ have At last ag:Teed, and ihti four ^ have mutually airoru to 
do iL They will ou the first opportunity adviae me when it ia to 
be done, and wheih^r by poiaon or by steely iu order that 1 may 
aetid thi« intelli^nce to your Majesty, ijupplicfiling you to be pleated 
to help Ihem after the t>tiaiiiep4 is effpcted." * 

About aix weeks later Mendoza again wrote to the same 
GOinaipondoiit, on June 24, to tell him that the arrange^ 
mexita for the aasaasination were going an satisfactorily, and 
that one of the would-be njurderers waa rery diligent indeed in 
attending to his religious duties as a derout Uoman Catholic: — 
**Th€ four men/* he states, '*who had taken the resolution 
mbout which I wrote to you ou the 11th uU.iino [it wiis the 
12th]t have ^ain assured me that tbey are agreed that i£ 



■ %g ««re MtQAllj wlcvied for tbit pDrpo«. 

* C^imdnf #/ Sf^n*ik Siaie Paptrt, tpI. lit, p* 579. 



116 



THS JESCITB m aBBAT BHITAIH 



shali be done btf 



when opportunity occurs. One of them 
is confessed and ab&dmd ever if d<^if\ and aajs that there is 
no need for the othera in the husiness at all/^ ' There can 
be but little doubt th^t the man who wanted all the glory 
of the vile deed was the man who bore the appropriate name 
of Sarage, who by this time had joined the Babington CoDspi- 
racy. It would be intereating to know who the priest was who 
confessed and absolved him *' every day," while without 
repentance he designed such a foul deed. That will probably 
never be known, yet, whoever he was, the result of his 
apiritual aiinistrationjs was seen on the scaffold, when Savaf^e, 
a moment before his death, having confessed his guilt aaid 
that "he did attempt it, for that in eonsciena he thought 
it a deed nit^rUorious^ and a common good for the weal 
public, and for no private preferment**' 

By this time Gilbert Gifford had become acquainted with 
Ballard and Babington^s pUns, for assasaination and had placed 
his services at its disposaL Griffori was actually sent irom Eng- 
land to Paris by Mury Qi^een of Scots herself, with a letter 
of credence to Mendosa. No one can read her letter, dated 
July 27, 1580, without a strong suspicion, that she knew 
about the plot to assassinate Elizabeth, and was anxiously 
helping it on. This was the opinion of even Mendoza him- 
self^ who, writing to Philip IL on September 10, after the 
whole conspiracy had been discovered by the English GoTem- 
raent, remarks: — **0f the sii men wbo had sworn to kill 
the Queen, only two have escaped, namely, the favourite 
Haleigh and the brother of Lord Windsor. / am of the 
opinion that the Queen of Scotland must he ivell aeguainted 
trith the whole a/fair, to judge from the cunients of a tetter 
ivhich .*he has written to me, * 

Nearly two months before Mendoza wrote this letter, 
and, possibly, on the same day that she wrote to him, 

1 Calmdar of ^aniii Statff Paperi, ydI. iii., p. 88 i. 

• Sfatr Trish, vol. i., p. 13:i fc;dition 17D0. 

* Cuirndar 0/ Sf/anitA Staff Ki^^m, ¥o1. ili., p, Ofti. 



I 
I 

I 

I 



QUSIM MABT AKD TBB MOBDEB PLOT 117 

Marj wrote also to the French Ambassador to England 
another letter which implies a knowledge of the assassina- 
tion plot: — "Entreat/* she urged, "the Lord Treasurer, that 
he be careful in the choice of a new guardian for me, that 
whatever may happen, whether U be the death of the Queen of 
England or a rebellion in the eountry^ my life may be safe." ' 
She was evidently, therefore, at this time, expecting the 
death of Elizabeth, and a rebellion in her favour. Out- 
wardly there was no prospect of Elizabeth^s death at that 
moment, since she was in perfect health. She could then 
only expect that death from the dagger of some assassin. 
On the same day Mary wrote to Mendoza the letter to which 
I have already briefly alluded, recommending Gififord to him 
as a person worthy of credence, who would tell him all 
that was going on for her release. ' This letter is more 
guardedly worded than that which she wrote to the French 
Ambassador, but it implies a knowledge of some plot going 
on, in addition to that of an armed invasion. 

*'I will/' wrote Mary to Mendoza, "freely confess to yon that 
I myself was so discouraged at the idea of entering into new 
attempUf seeing the failure that had attended previous ones, that 
I have turned a deaf ear to several proposals that have been made 
to me during the last six months by the Catholics, as I had no 
ground for giving them a decided answer. But now that I hear 
of the good intentions of the Catholic King towards us here, I 
have sent to the principal leaders of the Catholics a full statement 
of my opinion on all points of the execution of the enterprise. 
To save time / have ordered Vtem to iend to you, with all $peed^ 
one of iheh number ntfficiently imtructed to treat teith y<nt, in accor- 
dance with the promises given you in general terms, and to lay 
before you all the requests they wish to make of the Catholic 
King your master. I wish, on their behalf, and in dopendance 
upon their faithful promise given to me, to assure you that they 
will sincerely and truly, at the risk of their lives, carry out their 
undertakingif and those entered into for them by their representative. 
I therefore beg you to extend full credit to Atm, as if I had s^nt him 
vnynelf. He will inform you of the means of getting me away 
from here." • 

1 JUnmer** Qu^em Sti^abeUk and Mary Queen of Scots. London, 1886, p. 809. 
> Caiemdor of StaU Fapert, vol. hi , pp. 694, 008. 
» Ihid,, p. 597. 



lis 



TBS JKSiriTS W QBEIT BBlTilK 



A few weeks later Mary's messenger arriT&d in Paris, 
presented liitn»^ to Mendoza, and gave to him particulars 
of the conspirators' plans. These were of a two-fold char- 
acter. First, the assassination of Elizabe^^ and secondly, an 
armed invasion for iht deslntction of Protestantism. In a 
despatch to the King of Spain, dated Ai^jost 13, Mendoza 
gave the names of the EogLiBh Koman Catholic noblemen 
and gen tlemen who, it was all eged , had agree d to the 
inTasi on en te rprise, and then pr o c eed«d to vtate their 
desire that the King of Spain should send help, and their 
opinion that inasmuch as the whole country was " anxioua for 
a change of goTemment/^ this had 

"Led BabingWn, who 14 a strong Catholic, a youth of ^reat 

X'rit and i^ood &mi1jr, to try to find tome secret meana cf Mlting 
Queeii, 8jjt f^eotlemen, eervanta of the Queen, who have access 
k> het bouse, have promised to do thift, n& I reported to Don Juan 
de Idiaqtbec on the 11th of May for your Majesty's information. 
Thk geotlentnn [th« tneeaenger GtflbrdJ tella mc that no person 
knows of this but Babingrton, a-nd two of the priacipal leaders, it 
would already hnve been eJTected if they had not had their bus- 
picjon aroused by seeing the Earl of Leicester armed and with 
a forcA in Zee^and, which they feared he might brin^ over to 
England qiiic)cly enough to attack them before they conld gather 
their own forces or obtain help from yo^r Majesty, This has 
caui»ed them to delay laying hands upon tbe Queen, until they 
had reported matteri to me. and received a»iurance that they would 
be sncoonred with troops from the Netherlands tho moment they 
niight deeire it . « , « Tbey will not ask for troope to be sent, an- 
Ic^ea they are urgently neednd^ and if I will give them my word 
that they ahall at ooco havo help ^m the Netberlande in ca^e 
they want it» and that your MAJesty will succour them from Spain, 
if roquiredj tlvoy eay that thpy will immediately put into execution 
their plan to kill the Queen, They beg me not to doubt this, aa 
tboee who are to carry h out are resolved to do it, and not to 
wi&it for a favmirabie opportunity, but to kill ber^ even 00 her 
throne and under her canopy of ^late^ U I teli them the time bai 
arriTed to put an end to her." ^ 

Mendoza promised the conspirators: — "If they ^cceeded 
in killing the Queen, they should hare the aesistance they 
required from the Netherlands, and assurance that your 
Majesty would succour them. This I promised them, in 

1 Cmkudof ^f Sf^ft Fm^fTi^ vol. iiL, pp. &i%, 006. 



I 

I 



Tinn, fitooD, AIT& jftmniR 



119 



accordance with their request, upon my fftith and word. I 
urged tbem with arguments to hasten the execution." He 
went eTen further, and suggested that they '^shoold either 
Idll or aeiEe Cecil, Walaingham^ Lord HunsdoD, Knollys, 
and Beal, of the Council, who have great influence with 
the heretics, as they are terrible heretics tbeoiselr^, and I 
gare thera other ar^rice of the same sort." ^ In the heart 
of Mendo/.a Papal piety and crime were clo&ely united. He 
thonght the murder of such a heretic as Elizabeth a glorious, 
Catholic, and truly Christian act- " I received the gentle- 
man [who brought to him the plan of assaBsination] in a 
way the importance of his proposal deserved, as U was no 
Christian^ just, and advantageous to the holy Catholic faith, 
and your Majesty's service, and I wrote them two letters 
by different routes, one in Italian and the other in Latin, 
eficooraging them in the enterprise, which I said was teorthy 
of spirits go CcUholie^ and of the ancient valour of English- 
men."* The King of Spain was delighted when he received 
Mendoza^s letter, and wrote back to him, on September 5^ 
a letter filled with piety, blood, and murder: — ** As the 
affair,'* he aaid, *'is so much in God's service^ it certainly 
doMnres to be supported^ and we must hope that otu* Lord 
will prosper it, unless our sins are an impediment thereto. * . . 
I recollect some of those you mention as being in the plot, 
and in other casee their fathers. A buainess in which such 
persons are concerned certainly looks serious; and in the 
service of God, the freedom of Catholics, and the welfare 
of that realm^ I will not fail to help them. I therefore 
at once order the necessary force to be prepared for the 
porpose, both in Flanders and here in Spain. It ia tme 
tbat as the whole thing depends upon secrecy and our pre- 
paratiooB will have to be made without noise, the extent 
c^f the force must not be large enough to arouse an outcry, 
and ao do more harm than good, but it shall be brought 



1 CmUmdar c/ A«f# Fmftfft, nh liL, p. 007., * Uid., p. A04. 



120 



THE JESUITS IN OKKAT HBITAfK 



to bear from both directiona with the utmost promptness, 
as soon as i^ Uam from England that the pvivripU execution 
planned hy Bablngion and his friends has been effected. 
The matter has been deeply considered here, with a view 
to aToiding, if possible, the ruin of those who have under- 
taken 30 holt/ a task-^^ In another letter written to Men- 
doaa on the same day, the King told him what to do *' until, 
h^ God^s grace^ you receive intelligence that Babingion haa 
CEirried his intention into effect/^ ' 

Mj readers will have observed that in her tetter to Men-* 
doza, dated July 27, Mary Queen of Scots informed him ; — 
*^I have sent to the principal leadera of the Catholics a 
full statement of my opinion on all points of the execution 
of the enterprise. To save time 1 have ordered them to send 
to you, with all speed, one of their number sufficiently 
instructed to treat with you," This ^" full statement^' was 
actually written on the same day that she wrote to Mendoza. 
It was addressed to Anthony Babinj^ton, in reply to bia 
celebrated letter to her^ and was ostensibly the chief cause 
of her subsequent trial and execution- As every student of 
English history ia aware, much controversy has arisen as to 
Bgbington's letter, and Mary^s reply. It has been alleged 
again and again that Pbelippes, who was employed by 
Walsingbam to decipher the letters of BabinL^^ton and Mary, 
interpolated into that which she wrote on July 27 certain 
passages, which clearly imply her knowledge of the aaaassina- 
tion plot, and that he added to her letter the famous post- 
script in which she asks for the names of the six conspirators 
who had agreed to do the deed. It is, of course, possible 
th at the pu stscript was a forge ry , added to en a ble the 
Government to know with certainty the names of the chief 
culprits; but the assertion that inteq>olations were niade 
in the body of the letter, seems to me built only on mere 
conjecture! and is scarcely cou^tent with Phelippee* evident 



I 

I 

I 

I 



> Cg/«*ir of State FMpffi, Tol. iiu, pp. 614, OIB. 615. 



1UBT*8 LITTEB TO BABIMOTON 121 

anxietj to recover the original letter of Mary when Babing- 
ton was arrested. On July 19 (New Style, 29tli) Phelippes 
wrote to WaLnngham : — " You have now this Queen^s 
answer to Babington, which I received yesterday. If he be 
in the country, the original trill be conveyed unto hie hande^ 
and like enough an answer returned. I look for your 
honour^s speedy resolution touching his apprehension or 
otherwise, that I may dispose of myself accordingly .... 
If your honour mean to take him, ample commission and 
charge would be given to choice persons for search of his 
lionse. It is like enough for all her commandment [to 
bum the letter], her letter will not soon be defaced. 1 
m$h U for an evidence against herJ*^ ' Walsingham also 
was anxious to secure the original of Mary's compromising 
letter, for two days after Phelippes had written the above letter, 
and therefore probably before it could have reached London, 
Walsingham wrote to Phelippes : - ** Bab.[ington] shall not be 
dealt withal until your return, fie remaineth here. The original 
kUer unto him you must bring with you.'" ' But the whole 
controversy is too lengthy to be dealt with adequately here. 
Those who read the reports of the trials of the fourteen 
gentlemen executed for the Babington Conspiracy, as con- 
tained in the Slate Trials^ can scarcely doubt the justice of 
the sentences, which in some cases were for hiding their 
knowledge of the plot, rather than for directly taking part 
in it In either case, the legal punishment of their offences 
was death. Savage pleaded guilty; as did also the priest 
Ballard. On the scafibld Ballard again confessed his guilt 
as to ** those things of which he was condemned, but pro- 
tested they were never enterprised by him upon any hope 
of preferment, but only for the advancement of true 
religion.** Babington also pleaded guilty, but laid all the 
blame of his o£Fence on Ballard— not Gilbert Gifford, who 
had no hand in bringing him into the plot. "Yea,** said 

* Tke Utt€r Sookt 9f Sir Jmias Poulet. Edit«d by John Morris, SJ.. p. 234. 
> /W.. p. S4». 



122 



T»t JBBOlTfl in €BSAT BEtTllN 



Babington, ^'^I protest before J met with this Ballard, 
Defer m^ant nor mt^Bded for to bill the QneeQ; but bj bis 
persaasions I wu induct to believe that she was excom- 
municatef and therefore Uwfnl to murder her." Bsmwell 
pleaded: — "I ncTer iateoded harm to her Majestj^B person, 
but I confess I knew thereof, and I held it not lawful to 
kill the Qaeen; howbeit, for my other actioDJS, forasmuch 
m I know I iiid within the danger of the law, I plead 
guilty." Tickbourne said: — "I will confess a truth, and 
then I mu^st coufess that I am guilty f * but on the scaffold 
he acknowledged that he knew about the plot, yet he 
**alwaya thou)2:ht it impious, and deuied to be a dealer in ■ 
it.'* Dunne pleaded guilty, and at his death admitted that 
he had consented to take part in the effort to deliver Mary 
Queen of Scots from cust^^dy; but as to tbe proposed 
afisaflfiination he thought it unlawful , though he knew about 
the plans of the conspirators with regard to it, before his 
arrest. Abingdon made a similar acknowledgment. Salisbury 
pleaded guilty of treason, but not of intention to murder, 
and on the scaffold declared ; — '* I confess that 1 have 
deserved death/' Oage, when about to die, said that "he 
detested bis own perfidious in^s^titude *^ to the Queen. 
Travers pleaded not guilty, Jones said, at his trial; — 
"For concealing of the treason, I put me to her Majesty's 
mercy." TUney pleaded not guilty, though by the confessions 
of the other prisoners it was proved that he knew abont 
the intended crime. Chamock said : — '^ I confess that Bal^ 
lard did make me acquainted with the inrtision of tbe realm, 
and the other treasons," but he denied any active part in 
the assassination. Bellamy seems to hare been condemned 
mainly for harbouring the conspirators from justice. 

It has been asserted again and again ihst the whole of 
the Babinf^ton Conspiracy originated solely with the Govern- 
ment and its spies. It is very strange, if this were so, that 
not one of the prisonent s«em to hare suspected such a 
thing, for if they had, one or other of them would have 



I 



I 

I 



'THI CROICI OF EHOLAKD^ 



123 



pleaded it either at their tri&k or on the scaffold. That 
the Goremmeni emplojed spies in the case there is bo 
doubt, protniQeut amongst them beini; Gilbert GiObi'd, but 
no one need voider at thia^ nor would it b« fair and just 
theu or now, eicept on the clearest evidence, to charge the 
spies with suggesting crime. Gififord's part wns undoubtedly 
that of an infamous scoundrel; jet even if he were the 
originator of the whole plot— which certainly has not been 
prored — yet that will in no way lessen the guilt of the 
fourteen gentlemen who willingly, and with their eyes open, 
took part in it. That they deserved to die there can be 
DO question. It is worthy of note that the chief actors 
were the spiritual children of tJie Jesuits, and, as members 
of the Association, under tows of obedience to them. And 
what are we to think of our modem Englif^h Jesuits who 
hare inserted the name of the self-^ame priest John Ballard 
(executed for an attempt at murder^ and for nothing else) 
in their list of ** Confessors of the Faith/' and asa " Martyr " ! * 
Is their not a d:inger lest honour thus conferred on such 
ft criminal, should induce others to become "Confessors 
of the Faith,*' and ** Martyrs,'' by doing the things John 
Ballftrd did? 

Fmther Jahn Gerard, the Jesuit priest whose name was 
prominently before the public in 1€06 for the part he was 
alleged to hare taken in the Gunpowder Plot, in his " Nar- 
ratire of the Gunpowder Plot," refers to the Babington 
Conepiracy, not for the purpose of censuring the crime, hnt 
for that of whitewashing the criminals. This is his account 
of the transaction; — "After this, about twenty years ago, 
ihare was another m&tter intended by fourteen gentlemen, 
Ifr. Babington, Mr. Salesberie, and others of A0 choice of 
En^iand^ for the said Qut'en^s deliTcrance and restoring to 
her right ; wherein, though they were ensnared and entrapped 

> Rreordi of tA^ In^iish tniwines, S.J., vi»l. iii.. pji. nOl, SOR, %\t, Tbcir 
i» oaljr 0A« prieit kaona \t'jf tbc mmie uf Jobi BtlUH, wbitc?er tkiim*^ b« 



1S4 



THJE nBUVis m okbat mutaiji 



by some poHtic heads tliat sought both their overthrow and 
thereby & seaming justifiable pretence to cut off the said 
Queen [Marj Queen of Scots] ako, yet it was apparent 
by their examinations and executions, taking their death in 
fto devout and resolute manner, that they intended sincerely 
the Queeu's delivery for the adTancement of the Catholic 
cause/* ' But not a word of censure does the Jesuit write 
against those whom he honours by terming them ^' the ch oice 
of England/* 41 

Father Robert Parsons. SJ,, apparently wished peoplai^ 
believe that Babington and hia fellow conspirators wer« the 
innocent victims of lies told by an " apostate '^ priest named 
Anthony Tyrrell. ** So here/' wrote ParsoDS^ *'' you shall 
see Anthony Tyrrell to confess the like that up*m his own 
malice, and Justice Toung^s and other's' allurements, he 
devised aU these odious accttsatiotts of intention to invade and 
kill the Queen against both the Queen of Scots, Ballard, 
BabingtoUj and the rest that were put to death about 
these broils— which is a pitiful and lamentable matter/^ V 
And Parsons adds that he has published these confessions 
of Anthony Tyrrell, "to tlje end that albeit that for the 
present there be no remedy, yet that their memory faere-fl 
after may be relieved so far forth as it may deserve from 
the opprobrious crimes of treasons ;md conspiracies, by the 
confession and cleanng of him [Anthony Tyrrell] that firBt 
of all, as it seenn tb, did fulsL^ly charge them with the same/' * 

Father William VVeaton tells us thiit iie knew Anthony 
Babington well, and gives him the following character:— 
** He lived in such a manner as to gather around him, by 
force of his gifts find moral superiority, various young men 
of his own rank nnd position, Catholics, zealous, adventurous, 
bold in the face of danger, ardent for the protection of the 



I 



^ C&ndidom of Caihifltri ttrnf^ Jitmtt /. £[litn] by Jahn Morrit, SJ,. p. S6«i 
' TrouhUM fif Our CaiM^He t^refmlh^rt, McoDi wriM, Edited hj Jolu 
Morris SJ.j p. a 18, 
« na^ p. 310. 



I 



THE POPB OBTS MOBGAN OUT OF PRISON 125 

Cmtiiolic faith, or for any enterprise the end of which was 
to promote the general Catholic cause/' * and, again, " In his 
religion he was always the best and bravest of young men.'* * 
One of the most zealous of the servants of Mary Queen 
of Scots, was the well-known Thomas Morgan, many of 
whose letters are printed by Murdin in the Burghley Papers. 
This Moi^an, while living on the Continent, was one of the 
most active of conspirators against Elizabeth. Owing to 
the pari he took in the Throgmorton Conspiracy, he had 
been arrested in Paris, at the request of the English Oovem- 
ment. While in prison he managed to keep up a secret 
eorrespondence with Mary, and introduced to her several of 
the men who took part in the Babington Conspiracy^ vrith 
which he was fully acquainted, and of which there is no 
doabt he fully approved. Naturally enough Elizabeth wished 
him, as an English subject, to be sent to England to be 
tried for his offences, but the King of France refused. He 
bad imprisoned Morgan to please Elizabeth, and that was 
all he was willing to do. Mary wrote to France in his 
interests, hoping to get his release from prison, but in vain. 
Even the Duke of Guise failed in his efforts to secure 
Morgan's release. All other efforts having proved unavailing, 
at last the Pope himself sent his Nuncio to the King of 
France, demanding that this would-be murderer should be 
let out of prison. Such an application was anything but 
creditable to the Pope, but it proved successful. On Septem- 
ber 3, 1587, the Venetian Ambassador in Prance wrote to 
the Doge and Senate: — ^^The Nuncio has had an audience. 

In his Holine88*» name he made four demands Third, 

that Thomas Morgan, servant of the Queen of Scotland, 
who has been for long a prisoner in the Bastille at the 
instance of England, shall be released. . . . His Majesty has 
promptly resolved to oblige the Pope, and has ordered the 

> TromUes of Our Caikoiie Fore/aihtrt, secood leriet. Edited bj Juha 
Morrit, S.J.. p. 183. 

> Ikid^ p. 186. 



126 THB JBBUITt n OBUT BBITAUI 

instant release of Morg^. ' We may be quite sure that 
an act like this of the Pope, in behalf of a man who 
deserred death as a would-be assassin, was not calculated 
to benefit the Roman Catholics residing in England. But 
the Pope and the Jesuits nerer did anything with a view 
to conciliating Elizabeth; on the conkary, they did every- 
thing in their power to eza^ierate her and her Government, 
and to justify her severity towards her disloyal subjects. 

> Ckind^ of Venetim SUU Pt^era, Tal. f'm., p. S09. 



CHAPTER V 
THE 8PA>flSH ARMADA-TREASONABLE JESUIT BOOKS 

The Babington Conspiracy was worked in the interests of 
Spain. The Dnke of Guise, as a Frenchman, though a warm 
friend to Spain, was not at all pleased to find that the 
control of the English enterprise was likely to fall out of 
his own hands altogether, and therefore, in a fit of jealousy, 
he set to work to recoTer his lost influence over the move- 
ment. During the years 1585 and 1586 the Jesuit priests 
had been rery actively at work in Scotland, and had made 
their influence felt in a special manner amongst the Roman 
Catholic nobles, to whom several of them were related. As 
a result of their labours a priest named Robert Bruce was 
sent to the Continent in the summer of 1586, by the Earl 
of Huntly, the Earl of Morton, and Lord Claude Hamilton, 
to ask for a Spanish army to be sent to Scotland, consisting 
of 6000 paid troops, and for a grant oi 150,000 crowns to 
carry on a war against Queen Elizabeth, having for its object 
the re-establishing of the Roman Catholic religion. They 
promised that " by the Grace of God " they would carry out 
their ^^ holy enterprise,*^ deliver the young King of Scotland 
from the hands of the heretics, and then **make him again 
join the community of the Church [of Rome], to recognise 
the obligation he owes '* to the King of Spain, and to enter 
into no marriage engagement except to the satisfaction of 
Philip II. ' 

The Duke of Guise was most anxious to help on this 

> Oaltmdar of ^mmUA SUU Fttperi, vol. iiL, p. 690. 



128 



TH£ JESUITS IN 6R&Af BElTini 



Scottish achenie, which in fact he seems to have ori^ated, 
because if successful it would lead to his kinsman, James VI. 
bocoming King of England, instead of Philip IL On this 
Tery account, when Robert Bruce arrived in Spain, he found 
that Philip was by no means warm in granting asaiHtancd. 
But inasmuch as the Scottish conspirators had promised 
him, it be would grant their requests, two important porta 
on the borders of England from which he might attack 
Elizabeth with a Spanish army, Philip thought it good 
policy to send Bruce back with fair words, 10,000 crowns 
in hand, and a promise of 150,000 crowns more when the 
Scottish Roman Catholic nobles rose in arms. On his way 
back to Scotland Bruce travelled through Paris, where be 
called on Mendoza, and told him that the objects of the 
proposed insurrection in Scotland included ^'^ massacring the 
English faction and Ministers, unless tbey could with perfect 
safety imprison them, in which case they would at once have 
them executed by process of law/^ Bruce added that *^they ■ 
had the secret consent of the King for them to set him at 
liberty by any means. ^^ ' 

Bruce knew what he was talking about when he told I 
Mendoza that James VI. was willing to see the success of 
the Roman Catholic insurrection. That double-faced young 
hypocrite cared nothing for any religion, whether B,oman 
Catholic or Protestant, except so far as it might aid him 
to succeed to the English throne on the death of Elizabeth. 
His idol was himself, and he cared for nothing else, except 
as it ministered to his comfort or ambition. Tyiler, referring 
to this period, states that : — *^ Various Jesuits and aemtnary 
priests in disguise (of whom Gordon and Drury were the 
moat actire) glided through Northumberland into Scotland, 
proceeded to the late convention at Edinburgh, and from thence 
to Aberdeen, where they continued their efiorta, in conjunc- 
tion witii their ibreign brethren, for the re'eatabUahment 



* f^mitfrniar of Sp^mitA State I'apfrx, iruJ, lii., p. tt8i> 



TBI SEOSET WIBE-PULLIB8 129 

of the Catholic faith and the dethronement of Elizabeth. 
Apparently all this was encouraged by the Scottish King. 
It is, indeed, sometimes exceedingly difficult to get at the 
real sentiment of a Prince who prided himself upon his 
dissimulation; but, either from policy or necessity, he was 
soon so utterly estranged ftx>m England, and so completely 
snrrounded by the Spanish faction, that Elizabeth began to 
be in serious alarm.** ^ The Queen knew well how to manage 
James, and very soon she persuaded him to enter into an 
alliance with her to maintain the Protestant religion professed 
in both countries, against all its adversaries, Elizabeth on 
ber part promising him a yearly pension. With this James 
felt that his prospects of succeeding Elizabeth were greatly 
strengthened. He threw off, for the time being, his iriend- 
sbip with the Roman Catholic Lords, and very soon suppressed 
a rebellion which they had started. 

Meanwhile the King of Spain had taken up the business 
of invading England with energy, and was making active 
preparations for that Spanish Armada, which, two years 
hter, he sent to the English shores. It was a busy time 
for the traitorous Jesuits, who were the secret wire-pullers 
of all that was going on. Mr. Thomas Graves Law (formerly 
a priest at the Brompton Oratory) truly states that: — "Allen 
and Parsons, the respective heads of the two missionary 
bodies, Secular and Jesuit, were the soul of the new enter- 
prise. When Philip procrastinated, or the Pope was cautiously 
counting the cost, it was these men who passionately entreated 
and goaded them to war, drew up plans of campaign, 
named the Catholics in England who would fly to the foreign 
standard, promised moral aid from the priests, and assured 
the invaders of success. The foreign Princes seemed to 
depend for their information far more upon the reports of 
the Jesuits than upon those of their ambassadors."' 

But Philip did not care to go on with his preparations 

1 TTtler*! History of SeoiUmd. Edition 1864. Vol. ir., p. 164. 
* Iftw't J$t%it* mnd Secuiart, p. zr. 



130 



Tat nsvm m «sftiT eituoi 



for iha Armad&, uatil he was quite sure that the Pope 
would allow lum to DominAte the new King of England, 
should it be successful. On this poitit he dreaded most of 
all the possibility that Jamea VI. might beconie a Roman 
Catholic, and thus secure for himfielf from the Pope the ■ 
nomination to the English Throne. In July, 1580, Philip 
gave his Ambassador in Rome delinite instructiona how to 
proceed with the Pope in thia important afEair. The Pope 
had olfertd a eontribtition of 500,01)0 crowns for the enter- 
priae; but the Ambassador must tell him that the amount 
was not suEcieni, and that what had be^n offered should 
be paid in advance* ^ The Ambaasador seems to h&ve bad 
aome success in his negotiations with the Pope, for on 
September 6 he reported to hta master that the Pope had 
undertaken to paj towards the coat of the enterprise 700^000 
crowns, of which 500,000 would be paid on the arrival of 
the Armada in England, 100,000 six months later, and 
100,000 at the end of another six months. * The Amba;saador 
added that he had not been able to mention the question 
of the succetisioQ to the English throne to the Pope, bat 
that he had begun to ^* weave the web " around him, and 
to place "snares'* in his way, so as ^* to hare everything 
ready for the moment when your Majesty may order me to 
put the screw on.^^ About two months later the Pope put 
his promise of help into writing, dated December 13. It 
was Bs follows: ■ 

**Hifi Holijie^, de&iroufl of aiding vith all his strength tbu holy 
enterpri^r to wtiich God hae stiu>ul&ted hi^ Catholic MajF;$ly, is 
willing to employ in it a eiim not exceeding one million m gold; 
thtt^ is to say, he will give 500,000 crown« in one aum aa soon sa 
the Armadji abail Yiave arrived in Euglaad, iu accordauce with the 
document si;<ned with my hand of Lhe Sth of September of this 
year, und enbueqiieDtly, at the end of each tour montba, be will 
pay lOO.UOO crowns until the fail sum of a million shsU h^ve 
been paid, the rest of the clauses agreed io m the documenta af 



' OmUniar of Spamhk Si«t« Papf^rt* t»l. 
> 1U4., p. $21 




PHILIP II. AMD THI EKGLISH SUCCESSION 131 

24th Febraary and 8th September standing nnchanged. Signed 
Antonias Cardinal Cairafa. by orders of his Holiness— Borne, 22nd 
December, 1586." > 

At this time the Jesuit Parsons and Dr. Allen were at 
Rome, and in direct communication with the Spanish Ambas- 
sador, to whom they offered their adrice for the success of 
the enterprise, and as to the succession to the throne. 
" This Father Robert [Parsons] and Allen," wrote the Ambas- 
sador to Philip, ^*are not only of opinion that the Pope 
should give the inyesture to the person who should be 
nominated by your Majesfy, but say that the succession 
rightly belongs to your Majesty yourself, by reason of the 
heresy of the King of Scotland, and, even apart from this, 
through your descent from the house of Lancaster." ^ In 
the following month Parsons and Allen had become impatient 
at the slow progress of erents, and told the same Ambas- 
sador that "the appropriate moment has arrived, both for 
the main business and for the eleration of Allen [to the 
Cardinalate], and they look upon every hour's delay as a great 
eril."' These two traitors had begun to despond, fearing 
that Philip would not move until it was too late. To 
comfort them Philip sent word to his Ambassador at Rome 
(Count Olivares): — "You will maintain Allen and Robert 
[Parsons] in faith and hopefulness that the recovery of 
their country will really be attempted, in order that they 
may the more zealously and earnestly employ the good 
offices which may be expedient with the Pope."^ 

The King of Spain was anxious that the Pope should at 
once, and publicly, acknowledge his claim to the Throne of 
England; but the cunning mind of Parsons saw danger in 
this. It was true that he had no objection to the thing in 
itself; on the contrary he believed that the Kingdom of 
England was Philip's by right. But he dreaded— and not 

> CmUmdmr of !^4tm4k Siate Bmpert, toI. iii., p. 6&9. 
« /Wrf., p. 660. > Ibid., Yol. iv., p. 10. 

• 4 S^eordi 9f iMglitk C^tkoUctt vol. ii., p. Izxivi. 



132 



TSS JS8UITS IR O&SiT B&ITim 



I 



without reason — the jealousy of oifaer nations. On March IS, 
1587, be handed to the Count Olirares a paper which he 

had written^ entitled " Considerationa why it is desirable to 
carry through the Enterprise of England hefore discussing 
the Succe&sion to the Throne of that country^ claimed by 
his Majesty/* In this paper the Jesuit rereals his earnest 
wish that the Armada should be victorious. He feared^ 
however, so he wrote, that: 

"The very fact of this Spanish claim beine made would greatly 
a^5p-avate hereby in England, as his Majesty^ participation in tbia 
enterprise would (horeby become odious to all other Princes, 
heretics and Catbollcfl alike^ with the ideA that Spaia wiabefi to 
dotuiuAte all Europe, and so the cauee of the heretics would b^ 
more favourably regftrdcd, on the ground that the enterprise was 
undertaken for reai^on* of Stale, and not for the sake of religion.,*. 

*' Inasmuch as the whole world is rutv/ of npinion that hta 
Majeet^ is to undertake the enterprise in order to re«tore the 
Catholic faith, to avenge tbe open and intolerable iti juries against 
hinieelf, and €Sf>ec]ally against God'g Church, and the mukitude 
of njartyre, all j^ood Catholics in Christendom would favour it with 
their prayers, blesain^B, wrilingSp and other nide; so that those who, 
for State or other reasons, or jealousy of the power of Spain, weie 
averse to it, will not venture to oppose it. His Majesty's friends 
will be better able to work in favour of the entorpriije, as, fur in* 
Btancet the Pope with the King of France, who may not be pleased 
with the affair, and j^et him to remain quiet, with the Princee of 
the House of Fxirraine, and other French Catholics; whibt Allen*3 
n^K^tiations with the English Catholice and neutrals \Till be also 
more efiTi&ctual, as he can a«9i.iro them by letters, books, ^c, that 
the only object entertuined here is to reform reiigion and punish 
those who have deserved puniBhment. This will greatly encourage 
them in England, 

''When the enterprise shall have been effected, and the whole 
realm and the adjacent islands ar« in the hfliide of his Jfajesty, 
and tbe fortrei^^es and strong places powerless to oppose him, 
then wili be the proper lime to deal wttb the queetionr because 
if the Queen of Scotland be dead^ as shs probably will be, aa the 
heretics, having her in iheir handstand in tbe belief tbat the enter- 
prise ia in her interest, wit! kill her, there will be no other Catholic 
Prince alive whose claims will clash with those of hta MRJe*ty; 
whereas if she be alive and married to hia Jlajesty'B liking, the 
question of his Majesty's HUCceBsion can be taken in hand with 
her authority, and the claims of the House of Lancaster asserted/*' 

The news of the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, ■ 
reached Borne on March 24, when Parsona and Allen 



I 



i MiH^^r o/ Spaniik State I'aper§, vvl. iT«, pp. il — i8. 



133 

hastened to Olirares for adTice as to how to act under the 
altered circumstances produced by her death. It was decided 
that they should reply to all enquiries from Roman Catho- 
lics in England that, now Mary was dead, they must rest all 
their hopes in the King of Spain. Allen wrote direct to 
Philip n. expressing a hope, that he would " urge his just 
claims as next heir in blood, heretics being disqualified to 
succeed/* and he denounced Queen Elizabeth as " an impious 
traitress and usurper.'* ' In the opinion of these two 
leading traitors the death of Mary Queen of Scots was no 
loss to the cause they had at heart. "They are," wrote 
Olirares to Philip, " using every effort to convince me that, 
not only will the Queen's death be no loss to the business, 
but will do away with many of the difficulties which beset 
it»" ' Maiy, before her execution, had expressed a hope that 
Pliilip would go on with the enterprise against England, 
and this he certainly did with all his heart, and on a scale 
well known to all who have read the story of the Spanish 
Armada. But in making his arrangements for the future 
of England he proposed that he should himself nominate to 
the Archbishoprics and Bishoprics which would become 
Tacant when the Armada had finished its work. When 
Pope Sixtus y. heard this he was furious, considering that 
the King of Spain had thus usurped the Papal prerogatives, 
and therefore he at once wrote to Philip a letter in the 
haughty style of a Hildebrand. And this is what he wrote : 

**I>ear Son in Christ, Greeting — 

••This morning I held a Consistory, and Allen was made a Car- 
dinal to please your Majeety, and although when I proposed it, 
I alleged reasons calculated to give rise to no suspicion, I am told 
that, as soon as it was known in Home, they at once began to pay 
that we were now getting ready for the war in England, and this 
idea will now spread everywhere. I urge your Majesty therefore, 
not to delay, in order not to incur greater evils to those poor 
Christians, for if we tarry longer that which you have judged for 
the best will turn out for the worst. 

> (khndar of Sptmith SUtk Ftpert, vol. ir., p. 5i. 
s IHd„ p. 101. 



lU 



THI lYSUlTB Of 0E8AT eBlTADT 



"With regAid to the aid for the enterprlBe 1 have at once order- 
ed Lhe fultiliuent of every thin^ thut Count de Olivarefl h&s request- 
ed, and I believe be aeods particulaxa to ^our Majesty^ 

**0n undertakit>f!; thia enteri:irise, I exhort your Majesty firat to 
reconcile yauraelf with God the P«itberf for the eins of Frmces 
destroy peoptea, tuid no ein ia so heinoua io the eye* of the I^ord 
{If the tjHUrp«Uon of the Diviae Jurisdiction, fts is proved by hi»- 
torVf 8&crea &nd profane. Your Majeety h»si been adviaed to 
embmce in your edict Biahope, Archbishops, and Cftrdinals, and 
thjfl ia a grevious ein. EraAe from the edict these miniflUirH of 
God and repent^ or otherwise a gf^M acourge may fall upon you. 
Ke^ard not the m&n who tuay advise you to the contrary, for he 
luaet be either a flatterer or an atheist; but believe me, who am 
your apiritual father, believe our holy faith, your gpiritaal mother, 
vhotn you are bound to obey for your salvation's sake, Hum&n^ 
ca^on» and theological laws, all couneeJ you the Bame way, and 
tbey catiuot advisee you wronj^ly. Ot^tavtue Uaeear and other Paj^u 
Euaperore reej:»ected the Divine Jurisdiction eo much that, to 
enaole them to niaVe certain laws touching the same, they caused 
themaelvea to be elected FcmtifTH. I have shed many tears over 
ihi« great dn of yours, and I truet that you will amend it^ and 
that God will pardon you. The Vicar of Christ must be obeyed, 
without reply, in queetione of salvation, and I, therefore, hope that 
jou will aubmit— Rome, 7th August, 1587/' » 

I need not write here even a summ&ry of the story of 
the Spanish Armada, its disasters, and its defeats, mercies 
for which we still need to thank God as a nation. Two 
points, however, I may be permitted to mention. Major 
Martin Hume, the editor of the Calendar of Spanish SUiie 
Pajjers^ tella us that he found m the National libraryi 
Madrid, a contemporary manuscript, apparently intended to 
he issueJ to the men on the Armada, and bearing the title 
of "An Adilress to the Captaina and Men of the Armada." 
It is a most boastful document^ aa may be seen by the follow- 
ing ejttracU;-- 

"Onward^ gentlemen^ onward! Onward with joy and gladneaa, 
onward to our glorious, honourable, neceflsary^ profitable, and not 
difGciilt undertaking! Glorious to God, to His Church, to Mia 
8aint«, and to our country. Glonoua to God, who for thepuniah- 
nietit of England haa alloweti Himself to be banished &om the 
land, and the holy Sacritice of the Mass to be abolished. Glorioua 
to Uis Church, now oppressed and down-troddeu by the Englidh 
heretics. Glorious to the saintSj who have been there persecuted, 



I 
I 



I 



I 



1 CmUttdmr of SftamUk Si^fi Papers ^ vol iv., pp. 132^ I SI, 



YlPAt CLAIM TO TBI SOTIBIIGHTr OF KHGLAKD 135 

and maltreftted, insalted, and bornt. Glorious for our country, be- 
cause Qod has deigned to mAke it ffie inatrument for such f^reat 
eads.... Profitable also because of the plunder and endless riches 
we shall gather in Sngland, and with which, by the favour of 
God, we snail return, gloriously and Tietoriously, to our homes. 
We are going on an undertaking which offers no great difficulty^ 
beesuse God, in whose sacred cause we go» will lead us. With such 
* Captain we need not fear. The sainte of Heaven will go in our 
coiupany» and particularly the holy Patrons of Spain; and those 
of England itself, who are persecuted by the heretics, and ory 
•loud to God for vengeance, will come out to meet us and aid us.... 
" With us go foith, justice, and truth, the benediction of the Pope, 
who holds the place of Qod on earth, the sympathies of all good 
people, the prayers of all the Catholic Church ; we have ^em all 
on oar side. God is stronger than the devil, truth stronger than 
error, the Cathc^o faith stronger than heresy, the saints and angels 
of HeaTsn strong^' than all the power of hell, the indomitable 
^irit and sturdy arm of the Spaniard stronger than the drooping 
hearts and lax and firoxen bodies of the English." ^ 

Alas for the proud hopes and vain boastings of the 
Spaniards! Equally proud and boastful was that Admani^ 
turn to the Nobility and People of England^ written by the 
Jesuit ParBons in the name of Cardinal Allen, for distribution 
in England when once the Spanish Armada had landed on 
her shores, I hare already quoted from this document ' 
To encourage the invaders Pope Sixtus Y. issued a Bull 
deposing Elizabeth from her Throne, declaring her worthy 
of death, absolving her subjects from their oaths of alleg- 
iance, and affirming that no Prince can lawfully possess 
the Crown of England without the consent of the Pope of 
Rome! The Bull of Pius V. deposing Elizabeth is well- 
known, but this of Sixtus V. has been read but by very 
few Protestants, and therefore it is that I feel justified in 
reproducing it here entire, as proving beyond dispute the fact of 
ihe Papal claim to the sovereignty of England — a claim which 
ike Papacy has never withdrawn. I copy it from Tierney's 
edition of Dodd's Church History^ modernizing the spelling, 
Mr. Tiemey printed it from an original broadside of the 
period, in his possession: 

1 Caimdmr tf SpamaA SUU Pmpert, vol. ir., pp. S94, 205. 
' AiTfa, pp. 109—111. 



136 



THE JESUITS nr aRCAT BRtTAnf 



** A D^daraiion of fhe Sentence and DrposUion of Elhahetk^ 
the Usurper and Pretended Queen ^ En^kvui. 

"SixtuB the Fifthp by God'a providence the Univerul Paator ai 

Christ's flock, to whom by perpetual and lawful succesaion appir- 
tikiiieth the care and gctverniueot of tlie C&tholtc Church, Bc-e^ug 
the puiful c^lainitiee which hereey halh brought iDto the renovmed 
couQtriefl of Eugland and IretAnd, of old eo f&moUE for virtue, 
religion and Christiaa obedient; fknd how at this pre^iit, thn^u^b 
the impiety uud perversa goTemment of Klicabelh the pretended 
Queen, with a few her ftdherentfi* thoae kiugdotna be brought Dot 
only to ft disordered «nd perilous ataie in thetoselvea^ but are 
become as iiif(^cted moTuber^^ cot^taf^ioUA and trouble^Otne to the 
whole body of ChrleteDdom. * Aad not haviug m those p&He the 
ordinary means, which by the aasi&tance of Christian Frincee he 
hath in other provinces, to remedy disordera, and keep in (fbedience 
and eocle^iaatical discipline the people, for that Henry VIII^, late 
King of England, did of late year^ by rebeUion and reroU from 
the See Apostolic violently separate himself and his aubjecta Erom 
the communion and society of the Chridtian commonwealth; and 
Elisabeth the present usurper, dolh continue the same, with per- 
turbation and peril of the countries about her* showing herself 
obstiiiate and incorrigible in such sort that, witbont her deprivation 
and deposition there ia no hope to reronii those statea, nor keef) 
Christendom in perfect peace and tmnquillity. 

"Therefore our Holy Father, desiring, as his duty is, to provide 
present and effectual remedy^ inspired by God for the universal 
benefit of His Church, moved by the particular affection which 
himself and many of his predecedsora bave had to these nations, 
and solicited by the zealoue and importunate instance of sundry 
the most principal peruons of the same, hath dealt eameHtly with 
diveni Princes, and Bpecially with the mighty and potent King 
Catholic of Spain, for the reverence which he bi^arelh to the See 
Apoetolic, for the old amity between hia house and the Crown of 
England, for the special love which he hath shown to the Catholics 
of those places, for the obtaining of peace and quietneas in his 
countnea sbdjoining* for the augmentiiij^ and increase of the 
Catholic faith, and tinally for the univorsal benefit of all Europe; 
that he will employ thoee forcea which Almighty God bath given 
hinif to the deposition of this woman, and correction of her 
accomplices, so wicked and noisome to the world ; and to the 
reformation and pacification of these kiugdoms. whence so great 
good, and 50 manifold public eommoditioa are like to eneae* 

** And to notify to the world the justice of this act, and give 
^U Hutistaction to the subjects of thoBe kingdomai and othera 

' In a «>P5 of l^i* B»dl priuttfd in Cafdrrtrood'i IHitUtr^ 0/ tkf Jkifi ftf 
Sfctf^Hf^^ to!, if,, pp. 641 — fi47, tlis fnllowinfC Wflrds *re i»iB«rt^, which were 
nmitti^d hj Mr. TierDcj, — "And to tiii Hi^Itiiat like manocr, not pajing unto 
him hifl doe and Lawful renti'* — rfrft^rriTif: no doubt to the ycarlj tribute 
protaL*ed by King John wlien he rocuveil back hia Croffd, m tka Vtiaal aT Ibe 
Fvpc, from \]» ?«pal Le|^te. 



I 



I 

I 
I 



THS Ton^B DKPOamO BULL 137 

whoeoerer, and finally to manifest God's jndfnnentfl upon sin, his 
Holinees hath thought good, together with the Declaratory Sentence 
of this woman's chutisement, to publish also the causes which have 
moved him to proceed against her in this sort. 

JVrs^ for that she is an heretic and schismatic, excommunicated 
by two of his Uoliness's predecessors; obstinate in disobedience 
to Qod and the See Apostolic; presuming to take upon her, con- 
trary to nature, reason, and all laws both of God and man, supreme 
jurisdiction and spintnal authority over men's souls. 

^Seeandfy, for that she is a bastard, conceived and bom by in- 
coatuons adultery, and therefore incapable of the kini2:dom, as well 
by the several sentences of Clement VII. and Paul III., of blessed 
memory, as by the public declaration of King Henry himself. 

Thirdfy, for usurping the Grown without right, having the im- 
pediments mentioned, and contrary to the ancient accord made 
between the See Apostolic and the Bealm of England, upon re- 
concOiation of the same after the death of St. Thomas of Canterbury, 
in the time of Henry II., that none might be lawful King or Queem 
tksreof^ wiihotU the approhoHon and consent of the Supreme Buhop: 
which afterwards was renewed by King John and confirmed by 
oath, as a thing most beneficial to the kingdom, at request and 
instance of the Lords and Commons of the same. 

** And fitiriher, for that with sacrilege and impiety she contlnueth 
▼iolating the solemn oath made at her Coronation, to maintain and 
defend the ancient privileges and ecclesiastical liberties of the land. 

"For many and grievous injuries, extortions, oppressions, and 
other wrongs done by her, and suffered to be done against the 
poor and innocent people of both countries. For stirring up to 
sedition and rebellion the subjects of other nations about her, 
against their lawfbl and natural Princes, to the destruction of in- 
fijoite souls, the overthrow and desolation of moRt goodly cities and 
countries. For harbouring and protecting heretics, fugitives, rebels, 
and notorious malefactors with ^at injury and prejudice of 
divers commonwealths, ana procuring, for the oppression of Chris- 
tendom and disturbance of the common peace, to bring in our 
potent and cruel enemy the Turk. For so long and barbarous 
persecution of God's saints, afflicting, spoiling, and imprisoning the 
aacred Bishops, tormenting and pitifully murdering numbers of 
holy priests, and other Catholic persons. For the unnatural and 
unjust imprisonment, and late cruelty used against the most gracious 
Princess, Mary, Queen of Scotland, who under promise and assur- 
ance of protection and succour came iirst into England. For 
abolishing the true Catholic religion, profaning Holy 8ac;raments, 
Monasteries, Churches, sacred persons, memories of saints, and 
what else soever might help or further to eternal salvation. And 
in the commonwealth disgracing the ancient nobility, erecting 
base and unworthy persons to all the civil and ecclesiastical 
dignitiee, selling of laws and justice. And, finally, exercising an 
absolute tyranny, with high offence to Almighty God, oppression 
of the people, perdition of souls, and ruin of those countries. 

" Wherefore, these things being of such nature and quality that 
some of them make her unable to rei^, other$ declare her in»- 
warth^ k> lime; his Holiness, in the Almighty power of God, and 



138 



THl JESUITS IN ORBIT BRTTAnr 



by ApdfitolicAl autliorUy to him committed, dotb rendw the sentence 
of bia prpdoceaoors Pius V* *iud Gregory 5111,, toucbin^ the ei- 
commiitiienlioii and depoAttioD of the iaid Elbtiiboth ; and ftutber 
anew dotb excommunicfrl^, and deprive her of &11 authority n.nd 
princely di^ity^ &nd of aJl pretenRJon to Lhe Jiaid Crown and King* 
doms of England wad Irela-od^ declaring ber to be illegitimate, and 
an unjust iisiirper of Uie fi&me. And absolving the people of those 
vliites, and other pereona whatsoever, from all obedience, oath, and 
other band of subjection unto her, or to Any other in her OAine. 
Afid further, dotb Hlraigbtway command, under the indi^atioii of 
Almijrbtjr Clod &nd pain of exeommnDkation, and the corponl 
pUDiebinentA appiointed by the lawsj that none, of whatsoover condi- 
UoQ or ei^Ute, loler notice of the^ preaents, presume to yield unto 
her obedience, favour^ or other auceours; but that tbej and every 
of them concur by a.11 means pootible to her chastisement; to the 
end that she, which eo many ways hath forsaken God and Hia 
Ohtireh, beinf^ now destitute of worldly comfort^ and abandoned 
by all, aiay acVnowledg^e her offence, and humbly submit henKlf 
to the judgment of the highest 

" Be it therefore notified to the inbabit&nta of the said conntnee, 
Atrd to all other peraon&t that they observe diligently the premieefi, 
wilhdmwin^ all succour public and private from the party puraaed, 
and her adhorentA, after they shall have knowledge of this preeenL 
And that forthwith they unite themselves to the Cathohc army 
conducted by the most noble and Tic-torious Prince^ Alexander 
Farnese, Puke of Farnia aud Flaeentia, in the name of hvs Majesty, 
with the forces that eacb one can procure, to heip and concur at 
is aforesaid (if need «haU be) to the deposition and chdAti^ement 
of the said persons, and reetitation of the holy Catholic faith , &i§* 
nifying to those which uhiiU do the contrary, or refuse to do this 
here commanded, that they shall not cdca^ coDdigti puniahmeDt, 

*' Moreover, be it known that the inLention of bis Holiness, of 
the Kin^ Catholic, and his Higbnese the Duke, in this enterprise, 
is not to invade and conquer the^e Kingdom! : change laws, privi* 
leges or cuatoms, bereave of liberty or livelihood, atiy man (other 
than rebels and obstinate persons) or make changes in anything, 
except such as by common accord between bis Holiness, bin Catholic 
Majesty, and the states of the landt ahall be thouj^ht necessary, 
for the reBtitiitioD of the Catholic reli^oD, and punishment of the 
usurper and her adherents. Assuring all men that the controveraies 
which may ariee by the deprivation of this womau^ or upon other 
cause, either between particular parties, or touching the succe^ion, 
to the Crown, or between the Church and commonwealth, or in 
otherwise whatsoever, shall be decided and determiaed wholly 
aotiording to justice and Christian equity, without injury or preju- 
dice to auy person. And there shall not only doe care be had to 
Biive from epoil the Catholics of these countries, which have so lon^ 
etkdured, but mercy also showed to such peoitent persons as submit 
Ihemaelven to the Captain iieneral of this army. Yea, forasmuch 
a* infomiation is giveu that there be many which only of ignorance 
or fear be fallen from the faith, and yet notwithstanding bj^ taken 
for heretics; neither is it purposed presently to punish any auch 
persons, but to support them with demency tt&i by oonfercnce 



I 

I 



I 



THE rOPE 8 DEPOSIKO BtTLt 



139 



with leanied men Aod better conaideration, tbey may be informed 
of the truths if they do not Bhew thcmAGlve.^ oltstitiata, 

"To prevent also the eheddinj; of Chrii^tian bkK^rL rtr*<l spoil of 
the couutryt wbich nii^ht endue by the reBieUnce of Himiepriiicjpfil 
otfeoderM, be it known by these preaeota that it ah*!) not onlv be 
lAwfui for fiuy jtenom public or private (over And ubove tnoi^e 
which hftve utidertaken ih(» enterpnae) to arrest, put in hold, atid 
deliver up tr> the Cfttholic p&rty the said usurp^ff or any of her 
»ccomplicea : but also hoklea for very pood sen ice ajid most highly 
reward^, iLct^ording to the quality %nd condition of th*^ pni'Uea fiu 
deliyered* And, in like manner, ftll other* which horoVorure have 
AAsisteci, or bere&fter ahall help and concur to the puuishmenl of 
the offenders, s.nd to the establishnaent of the Catholic reliRtoD in 
these provinces, shall receive that adviLnoutnenC of honour nn^l 
eeUto which their cood and faithful service to the common we^Uh 
thall require; in which respect ahnll !>« used to preEierve the ancient 
and bonourftble families of the laud, inaariiuch aa 14 pos^eible. 

"And (in&ilyr by these presents, free pfiAan^e ia gmnted to euch 
n» wili rei^ort to the C»tbolic camp, to brint; victuals, munitionjor 
other tiece6darie« ; promisin? liberal payment for all t^uch things 
a« ihali be received frono them for the service of the Army. Kx- 
hortinj^ with&l, and straightway command lUj^ Chat all men, accorUin;; 
to their force and ability, be ready and dilip;fsnt to aaaiat herein, 
to the etid no oc^ca^ton be givea to ttee violence, or to pUTiiah 
«ach persons an shall neglect this commandment 

"Our said Holy Father, of hia benignity and favour to tbi» 
«i]terpn9a, out of the spiritual treaaurefl of the Church, committed 
to hift custody and dispeniiaLion, granteth most liberally to all such 
ma aaaiflt, concur, or help in any wise to the depoeition and punish- 
ment of the above named peraona^ and to the reformation of tbeae 
two countries, Plenary Indulgence and pardon of all their ainSi 
licing duly penitent, contrite, and confej4£»^» accordin]^ to the law 
of God and usual cusiom of Christian poople." * 

Were it not for the efforts of the Jesuits, and particularly 
those of Robert Parsons, the Spanish Armada would never 
hwre sailed to the short?B of England, nor would this outra-^ 
geous Deposing Bull of Siitus V, have ever been issued. 
Both the I'ope and the King of Spain were willing enough 
to punish EIngland for her Protestantism, but thej would 
nerer have ventured on the task were it not for the encour- 
agement given to them by the English and Scottii^h Jesuits* 
And it is well to remember that the claim to the Deposing 
Power of the Pope ia put forward at the present time by 
the Jesuits, and by other writers too, in as strong terms as 
aoj used hj writers of the sixteenth century* 

* Tkrmfy't JW^« CAureA tlutuT^^ rd. iii., A|jp«QtlLK, pp. iltt-^UTiti, 



140 



TBI JSSUITa m OaeAT SBtTAfN 



It 13 a pleasure to know that Philip IL was disappointed 

in his expectationa of receiving large grants of money from 
the Pope for the expensed of the Spanish Armada. Ud M 
never got a pennj. The wilj old Pope was as cUDning^ ' 
and as unscrupulous as any member of the Jesuit Order 
could possibly he. The Spanish Ambassador in Rome was ■ 
continually pesterinf^ the Pope for moneyt but could not 
get a penny from the old miser, who loved money with atl 
his heart. After one of hia iaterviewa with Pope SixtuSp 
the Ambassador wrote to his master: —''When that subject 
[of money] is broached to him the only effect is that, 
the moment my back is turned, he babbles the moat 
ridiculous nonsense at table, and to everyone who cornea 
near him, such as would not be said by a baby of two 
years old. He possesses no sort of charity, kindliness, or 
consideration, and his behaviour ia attributed by everyone 
to the repulsion and chagrin that he feels as the hour 
approaches for him to drag this money from his heart." * 

The Jesuits and Philip II. realized that the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada made it impossible, for the time being, to 
do anything more in England to put down Protestantism 
by the sword. This, however, made them all the more 
aniious to do what they cnuld to annoy Elizjibeth Indirectly 
by machinations carried on through Scotland. As early as 
November 15S8t Bobert Bruce once more appealed for help 
to the Duke of Parma^ to be given to the Roman Catholic 
Noblemen of Scotland, vrho were now williug to throw 
James overboard altogether, so that Philip might become 
King of Scotland, and eventually succeed to the English 
Throne. **lt has been discussed/* Bruce wrote to tbe Duke, 
*'and resolved by most of the Principal Catholics here that 
it is expedient for the public weal that we should submit 
to the Crown of Spain, and the Earl of Fluntly therefore, 
who is the first subject in this coimti7 in point of strength 



I 
I 



I 



1 C^thndvt of SftimiMk Slait Pvptr*, vpl. if., f. t8f i 



IHOTHBR PLOT Di SCOTLAND 141 

and influence, has authorised me, in the presence of a 
sufficient number of witnesses, to write and assert in his 
name thai if our King will not consent to act well, he 
(Huntly) and several others of his party wish to submit to 
the rule of his Catholic Majesty and his forces, and to 
render him the peaceful possessor of the whole country, if 
he will consent to direct his forces to be employed to this 
end.*'^ Mendoza, at Paris, strongly favoured the idea of 
helping the Scotch nobles, and told his master so. "If,^^ 
he wrote to Philip, on November 7, '4t was important 
before to hold the [Scottisl^ Catholic nobles to their good 
resolve it is doubly so now, and also to show the Queen of 
England that your Majesty intends to assail her on all sides, 
which will cause her not to divest herself of her ships 
suddenly, which otherwise will go out to piUage and trouble 
your Majesty^s forces. Your Majesty should keep up the 
talk of war and great armaments, even if you do not carry 
them out; publicity is as important now as secrecj was 
before. As the Duke of Parma has so many troops, it 
would be well to relieve the country and provide winter 
quarters for them, which would prevent troublesome mutinies, 
by sending to the Scottish Catholic nobles the number of 
troops they request.** ' 

In the month of February the English Government captured 
a Scotsman named Pringle, who was on his way to Spain 
with letters from Roman Catholic noblemen of Scotland, 
asking for help from Philip. Elizabeth at once sent on 
these letters to Edinburgh, accompanied with a strong 
letter from herself to James, urging him to punish the 
traitors. One of these letters was written by Robert Bruce 
to the Duke of Parma, to whom he joyfully announced that 
the ranks of the traitors had been strengthened by the 
perversion to Romanism of the Earl of Erroll, and the Earl 
of Crawford. Nothing could, perhaps, more clearly reveal 

> CaUndar of Spanith SUUe Papers^ toI. It., p. 478. 
>7M.. p. 476. 



U2 



TBK JEflUTTS lH OKEiT BS1TAI5 



tbe seditious conduct of the Jesuits than what Bruce here 
records of their work: 

"By the iostftnt pr»yers and holy peratiftaions of two fiitbersi 
Jesuita, [ihey have] coaverted to our holy fflith two herttica. Earl* 
of the hret iiutborily and power amonj^st Lb^m, tbe one vbereof 
is called the Earl of ErroU, ConHtable of Scotiajnd^ converted by 

Father Edmund Hay; the other, called the Earl of Crawford, con- 
verted by the aald Father William CreightOD. They are both *ble 
and wise young lords, and most desirous to advance the Oitholic 
Ikilh, and your enterprif*©* in thia inland, which they are intending 
to tentify to his Majesty Catholic and your Highnefls, by their 
own 1«tt«r8, which by the grace of God I shall send with the 
Erst commodity. In toe meantime they have required me to make 
you offer of their oiost humble and affectionate sorvice. proittining 
to /oltow whaix>et€T ike Maid Je*uiU and I ahatl think good to bt don^ 
for the con^rvalion of the Catholice; atid to dispose and to facilitatfl 
the GJcecutioD of your enlerfiriBea bere^ Mihich they may da mart 
m»ily nor ihey thai ar^Amot*** to b^ GtfhofitSt wb08« actions are ever 
itiapicioui to the hepeiica for their religion, whereo/ the fuw EarU 
ha\ie not y^t matU ouivard profesthn^ but in that, aa in the rest, 
they submit themeeWeB to our wiUf and to what we find moti 

''The aaid Fathers of that [Jeeuit] Company make great hisit 
in Scotland; and to socn ax a Lord or other pernon of importance i$ 

oorwerted by them, thty dispiute wid incline^ in the Tecy mean time, 
ikeir affet^iions to th^ King (»/ .Si>ain and yoar Highness [the Duke 
of Parma] a« a thinfc ineeparably conjoined wiLh tlio advaucement 
of true religion in this country* If I had commaadment of yoor 
Hif^hi;e.4s, I would give them some little alma in 3'onr name to 
help them, and eight others, whereof lour are dUo Jeauita, and 
other four are Seminary prieels of Tout Moncon, in Lorraine, which 
are all (he ecclef>iastic8 that produce so great epiritual fi-uit in 
Scotland, and acquire to ytm here 9tich atigmmtation 0/ your /Hendt 
and MervanU, 

"After tbe parting of Colonel Sample from this, the Lordfi sent 
letters with the said [Jesuit] Father Creighton, and other g^title- 
men, alter the army of 3pain [that ia, the Spautah Armada] to 
cauBe ii to land in thia country; but it ban taken tbe way of 
Bpaiu a few dnja before their arrival at the li\es, where it bad 
refreshed it^eir, so that it was not pofti^ible for them to attend to It.'' * 

The deception practised by these young Earls, in continu- 
ing to publicly profess the Protestant religion after having 
been received into tbe Church of Rome was, in these in* 
st-anctis, manifestly the result of the advice given to them by 
the Jesuits and Robert Bruce, since they were willing to act as 
their spiritual advisers thought **nQost expedient/' Dtagrace- 



I 



I 

( 



m^StKULATtOVi OF POPISH LORDS 



143 



ful deception of tUfi kind was bj no means uncommon at 
this period by the spiritual children of the Jesuits. Bnict% 
in the letter I hare just quoted, retealed also tbe decepticm 
practiaed bj tlie Earl of Huntlj, one of the rebel Lords, 
of whom he wrote : — " The Earl of Huntly is conatrajued to 
remain at Court. He is fallen from bis coDstancy in his 
outward profession of the Catholic religion, partly for haying 
lost all experience of your [the Duke of Parma^s] support, 
before the return of the said Chisholm^ because of his long 
Btudy there; partly by tbe persuasion of some politics; partly 
to eschew the perils imminent to all them that call themselves 
Catholics; pardj^ to keep himself in favour of his King, who 
pressed him greatly to subscribe the Confession of the heretics, 
and to league iriih England. Bui for all this^ his htart is 
no ^se alienated from our cause; for he hath the soul erer 
jifood." * This statement by Bruce was confirmed by the 
Barl of Huntly himself, who, writing to thank the Duke of 
Parma for the eum of 10,000 crowns for the support of the 
Roman Catholic cause in Scotland, boasted that by his 
dissimulatioa in signing the Solemn League and Covenant 
he had procured the "advancement of the cause of Qod, 
who hath put me into such credit with hid Majesty [James YL] 
that since my coming to Court, he hath broken his former 
goards, and caused me to establish others about bis person, 
^ my men, by the means of whom and their captains, I 
may ever be master of his person, and, your support being 
arrived^ spoil the heretics of his authority, to fortiiy and 
aamire our enterprises." ^ 

Cmming as were the Jesuits and their pupils, they were 
not a match for Queen Elisabeth, whose prompt action in 
■aodiiig on to Jamee the intercepted correspondence with 
Sp&fo, led soon after to the defeat of the Roman Catholic 
Lords by the forces of the King of Scotland. 



• Cfcldwwo*!-* Hi^/ory cf tke Kirk «/ SeofUnd, r*l. 

• /*< p. !7. 



3L 



144 TBk nsum is guit BsiTjmt ^H 

One of £he cbief lay snpporters of the Protest An t cause 
at this period was Maitland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland. 
Pasquier, the Romao Catholic author of The Jesuits^ Caiechism^ 
asserts that Father Creighton tempted this Robert Bruce to 
murder Maitland, and wa-s rery indignant because he refused 
to do the tile deed. 

'*A $hort liin« after Bruce's arrival la Scotland," write ts Fauquier, 
'Hhe having been all hia youn^ day« brott^ht up and nounahed 
with Ihc Jesuits) there c&me thither Father Wtlham CreightOQ, a 
Scottish man, who some time had been Recu>r of the CoUefce of 
the Jesuits at Lyooa. And he wa^ in the company of the fiifihop 
of Duublauet who was i^til by Fupe Sixtua V* to the King of 
ScoUaud, to make him an offer of mazriage with the Infanta of 
Bpain, fto that he would became a CatboliCj and Join with them 
afi^ainst the En^liah. 

*' My Lord John Metellenus [tA. Lord Chancellor MaiUand] set him- 
self a^ain&t thia nep^otiationi and for sundry good and weighty TdsSGnu, 
counseHed his mai^ter not to ref^ard it; ineomuch that tbe Bishop 
returned thencef without efieclmp; auything, leavinji? Creighton in 
Scotland, who joined bim^U with Bruce and was his coropanioa. 
Aud because he conceived thM Meloll^^nua aJoue had turned the 
King from accepUDjz; the offerB n^ade him, b« puipoeed to show 
him a Jeauife tnck indeed. And that waathie. A Catholic Lc«d 
had idvited the King and hie Chancellor to a banquet. Creighton 
solicited Bruce^ if it would please him to lend him some monej, to 
compflfifl ihie Lord^ that should g:ive order for procuring the slatighter 
of the Chancellor^ assuring hiniself that by means of the money, he 
ehoold make him do whateoever he would, Bruc^fiaily refua^... 
Creighton seeing he had missed of this bis match, went to n[iove 
him to another, and to persuade Bruce to give 1500 crowns to 
three gentlemen that did offer to kill the ChAnceltor, after some 
lese Glanderous and oflfeostve manner. But Bruce answered him 
that, as in reepect of the fault or sin, it was all one to Idil a man 
with his own bands, and to ^ive money to procure such a pnrpoaa 
and act to be done^ And that, for bis pnrt^ be woa a priv&ta 
pei^on that bad not any authority over the life of any man, and 
less over the life of the Chancellor, who waa a chief maa ia ihe 
execution of the justice of the land." * 

It 19 certain that at about this period both the Bishop 
of Dunblane, Creighton^ and Robert Bnice were in Scotland. 
In the earlj summer of 1589, as we learn from the Calendar 
of SpfinUh Stole Papers^ this Bishop was willing to get 
Chancellor Maitland murdered, and that he claiiQ^ the 

^ Thf JftuiUi* CiUtckime. Print«d 1602, f. 130. 



I 

I 



I 



I 



PLOT TO ASBilBBlKjlt£ THE CHANC£LLOB 



145 



sfuiction of Pope Siitua V, for the proposed crime. John 
Arnold, CarthusiaD Priofy %ruU thu^ about the suggested 
mardej* to Philip H: — 

'* Although it WA9 necessiLry in the interesU of oiif OrJer that 
the Ch&pter Qeneral held this ye&r in Krauce ^huuld aeod siirueou6 
to crave tbe aid of your Majesty, I myself should not have CKime 
but for a business of great importatu^^ in your Mnjeaty'ia service* 
The Bbhop of Ca^Bano [Dr. Lewis], in CalHbri% de«irouij of serving 
your Majesty to the utmnst in your aUeuipt to recover the loat 
KiD|c<laiu3 of E]i>:land and Scotland, t^ent about two years ago, 
at hia own coat^ to Scotland a Scotsman, tbe Biahop of DunhUne, 
a monk of the Carthualan Order, to j^ain over the KXti^ or fiome 
of the nohlea to aid the Spanbh Armada. By the persuAitionB 
of the Bishop and of other Catholics, and through fear of the 
Armada, the King was for a time induced to consent, if bio life 
were apared and a proper maiiiicnance e^ciired to him, to deliver 
himiielf into your Majesty'* haiula and admit the Arraada into 
bitf reftlm. On the evil fate of the Armada betn^ known, his 
Chancellor, who ia maintained by Engiiah tyranny* and is a 
pei^tileiit heretic tno&i fatal 1o his country^ dissuaded httn* and 
induced him rather to aJly himaelf with the murderess of his 
aainted mother. Notwithstanding thia» the Bishop [of Caaaano] 
eenda zae to you in his [the Bishop of Dunhlaao'el nan>e, to aay 
that if yon mah to have the King in your power ne will deliver 
him to you, although against the King'* own will and that of all 
hifl people. But ia order to hriTig ikit about, the firBt thing to do 
i$ to kul ih£ Chaiiceilor^ who is bo bound up with the English 
woman (Elizabeth) and ie bo powerful in Scotland. The Bishop 
prttmiKB to haw thU d&fie (although he Is A pneit)^ is HS ham ihb 
HoujrBsa'B authority for it." ^ 

Spottbwoode also mentions an attempt to murder Lord 
Chancellor Maitland in the year 1589, and afl^rnis that it 
vr&a undertaken by the advice of two Jesuits, Uay and 
Creighton, *' Neither," he remarks, **were the Jesuits that 
lurked in the country in thia meanttme idle. Of these the 
principals were Mr. Edmond Hay and Mr. William Creighton, 
who had been prisoners some mouths in the Tower of Lon- 
don. They adming the Popish Lord» to attempt somewhat 
bj themselves, which would make the King of Spain more 
earnest to give succour, a plot was laid to take the King 
oat of the Chancellor and Treasurer's hands, by whose 
cotinsel they thought he was only ruled — The device was 



* CaUmdMt 0/ Sj-AniiA Siatt Papers, vol. U,, p. 542. 



10 



146 



T9S JISmTS m 6&EAT BRlTAIK 



that they should &U meet &t the Quarrel Holes between 
Edinburgh and Lei th , and go from then ce to Boljrood 
House, and settle themsolves about the King, secLudmg 
tho^ two Goansellors; or, if th^j fouiid them with the 
King, that tbej should presently kill them. But this derice 
wa3 overthrown bj the Eing^s remaining in Edinburgh, 
who, suspecting some plots against the Chancellor, did for 
his securitj staj in the bame lodging with him.*^ * 

Let us now return to the work of Robert Parsons. Even 
the bitterest enemy of this celebrated Jesuit must acknow- 
ledge that he was a man of great ability^ perseTerance, 
and nntiring industry. In hie efforts to attain the objects 
he had placed before him he seemed to know no fatigue, 
and only took rest when compelled to da so by LUness. 
His great object was the suppression of Protestantism in 
England, and this he was convinced could never be accom- 
pltfihed except by the sword. His main reliance was on the arm 
of fieah. His political intrigues were numerous. In proBe- 
cuting them he was a frequent traveller, seeking the help 
of tungs, Princes, Popes, Statesmen, Cardinals, Bishope, and 
priests of humbler degree. He knew Tory well that if 
Spanish troops and Spanish rule were to be welcomed by 
English Roman Catholics, they must be educated into ap- 
proval of the plans of the King of Spain, and this work 
could only be done hj priests, who themselves must h»Te ■ 
been properly educated by the Jesuits before being sent on 
the English Mission. Hence the zeal of Parsons in found- 
ing various Seminaries on the Continent for the education 
of the English priesthood. We have already seen what was 
the opinion of Cardinal D^Ossat as to the political influence 
of the English seminaries founded abroad by the Jesuits. 
Now let 113 see what was the opinion on this subject of a 
lloman Catholic secular priest who wrote in 1 603, The 
author of ^ Replie unto a Ceriuint LtLeU^ writes as follows :^^ 



I 
I 



I 



* Spultitwood«*« EiHoTf of ikt Chwch of SrotJand, %o]. li., p. Stt. 



THC jesmrs aitd thb 9BV1«4BT collboes 



147 



"And touching the CoUe^efl And pennoni Lbftt are mB.intained 
A0d ^ivea bj the SpAiii&rd (which ho [P&rsoiiB] 00 often inciilcaieth), 
we no whit thank him for tb^m^ a^ things are handled, and occaaiona 
thereby miniatured of our greater peftAOUtion &1 home, hy reaAoii 
of Fftiher Parsottfl' treAcheroitft pr&c(icet, therebr to prornule the 
Spaniards' title for our oountiy; and kiq Uatefal fltrat&gema with 
each scholars as are there brought up; enforcing to Bultacribe to 
blanka, and hj public oratioufl to fortify the Bsid wrested title of 
the Itifeinta; which courses CiLnnot but repiif ua with double injuries 
and wrongs, for the benefit received/'* 

''After this he [PaT^ons] reckonetb hts AetniDaties in Sjkain and 
Flandera. A goodlj" brood 1 He gave us a reward to break our 
headA, by hi£ fC[>o^ deeds to brine: men into treason a^iinat their 
Prince and country^ as i* dechired before^ and more appeared by 
his Bolicilin); some of the prieeta brought up there to come in 
hostile manner against their country. So be dealt with Master 
Thoiua« Ifeake an d otb er9 ; an d aucb a« refused , he fel I oul 
with them."* 

**FOT the proof of the Aecond objection^ of the schol&ra [in the 
8eminariee] beinj; nr^ed to subacribe to blanka^ and to coufirm 
the Infanta's tit^ to the Crown of En^H&nd, i« a matter very 
notorious and evident. We have divers priests yet alive in England 
to oonfirm the aaoae by oath, as well of them that were enforced 
to subacribe againsA their wills, aii others that openly refused the 
same, I do therefore wonder to sec the man's unshamefast denial 
0/ BO maniteflt and apparent a truth."' 

This optnion of the seclitioiis and iraiboroos iisea to wbich 
the Jesuit-ruled Semmaries were put, was shared also by 
the secular priests whot in a declarntion which they addressed 
in 1601, to the Archpriest Blackwell, signed themselves, 
"The tJnjusUj Defamed Priests." They asserted that :—" It 
18 erideiit that those new Colleges [^'^in Spain set forward 
by Father Parsons*'] were erected upon some other ground, 
aa may appear by the uaage of the students; which hitherto 
hath been to abase \? advise] the Catholic Princes of that 
country, and to induce them into an admiration of Father 
Parsons^ aa of a man Likely to further any intention which 
he should put into them. And to the better effecting thereof 
the students have been pressed, some of them to sot to their 
bftnds directly to the Lady Isabell's title to England; some 
of Ihetm to divers blanks, subscribing in English to some, 
to other in Latin, and to other in Spanish; which, and his 



A H^i4, ftc., U 3£. 



* im., I BO, 



• /Airf., f. 6S. 



148 



TBB JCBUtTS m OEKAT RRlTAlIi 



like practJceB (how well soeter be might otherwise deserve 
of us), gauQot be reckoned amongst good deserLs; aa haviog 
iberekj given our adrersaries so clear a proof of his disloy-* 
ally towurd;9 hi^ Prince and country^ that tmleaa we should 
yield ourselves to be traitors to the State^ for the lore of 
which and reducing thereof to the Catholic faith we daily 
adventure our lires, we canaot but sever ourselves from him 
and his accomplices/* * 

A recent RomaQ Catholic writer also shows how Parsons 
used the^ Seminaries for the furtherance of his political 
achames. *' Besides the immense adTantf4^e and iuBuence 
such Colleges would give the English Jesuits/* writes Father 
Tauuton, *^tbey would be useful in another way. The onis 
hope of regaining England was, in Parsons' eyes, not the 
patient toil and blood of missionaries, but the armed inter- 
vention of Spain. The zealous young men who offered 
themselves to the Seminariea as soldiers of Christy found 
thai the^ were also required to he sddters of Philip, The 
]K>licy of thus bringing up youDg men in Spain itself, where 
they would have the glories of that gr^at country before 
their eyes, and would live in an atmosphere thoroughly 
Spanish, and be accustomed to live on Spanish generoaity, 
would in itself tend to habituate them to the idea of 
Spanish dependence. Nor did Parsons intend only to influence 
only these young men. His plan was, as will be seen, thai 
students from other Colleges should also spend some time 
in Spain before they went back to England, so that they, 
too, might be * hispaniolated/ " ' 

From these facts it will be seen how necessary tt waa 
for Queen Elizabeth to oppose not only the Jesuits, but 
also iliose priests who had been educated in foreign Semi> 
naries under their influence. She always made a great 
distinction between *^ Seminary priests*^ aud those who had 
been ordained in England before her accession to the Throj 

( 7W JrtAj.rwi CMifQwrwf, vol it., p» 17S^ 

' TiUQtoD*! Hittory of the J^nUi in ^iand, p, 159, 



I 



I 



8CABCE TEBmt UOOEB 



149 



But the leal of Robert Parsons was not expended solely 
on personal interviews with influential personages in various 
parts of the Continent. He was fullj aware of the power 
of the pen, and used it largely on behalf of his achempft. 
His letters to various individuals are scattered far and 
wide, and if collected would alone fill several volumes. But 
the wonder is how, with hLs various other works, he found 
time to write such a large number of books. Many of these 
have now become extremely aearce, and thia remark may 
also be applied to many other bookis written by Jesuits of 
the period. The Rev. Dr. Augustus Jessopp, a high authority 
on such matters, in the preface to his One Genfration of a 
Norfolk Bouse^ in which he deals with ecclesiastical events 
at the close of the sixteenth century, tells na that: 

"One of the ^refitest difi)cultiea wliifii T liave had to contend 
wHh ha4 been the extreme rarity of some of the booka which it 
has been necessary to consult, and the roncequent difliculty of 
procnring thetn at any cost, or eveu of obtiviiiiiif^ & sij^ht of tbem 
at any library. Of all the worts mentioned by Dr, Ohver*e Colicc- 
fiofif AS wHtton bv Michnel Walpolo, not one iti to be found either 
in the British Museum, the Bodleian, or the Cambridge Libraries* 
There are probably not ten oopiea of More't* Hulory of the En^liah 
pTovinoe in England. As to CresawoU's little Life of Htnry Wal- 
poie, it is probably unique : and more than one of Parsons^s minor 
woribf «T«n a Bibliomaniac would count hitmelf /ortttnateinobkaning 
tmioe in a lifetime. 

"It waa with A painful recollection of my own roistakea, loia 
of time, bootless joumeya, and pro^roking waste of money, that I 
determined lo append the short list of the rarer booka which I have 
bad oocaaioD to use and refer to. A aolitAry student with limited 
raeoarc«fl, and cut off from access to the larger libraries, except H-t 
interrftU of some monthii, worka at very great disadvitnta^e, and 
I would g:ladly spare others fqiuq of the trouble I have gone 
tbrougb in the lonpj process of eimply learning %uhti^ to look for 
informatioD. The hat ia after all a meaf^e one, and I have not 
named such works aa anyone can consult almost anywhere; but 
I must warn those who nuiy feel any inclination to go at all 
deeply into the biatory of the perind with which thia volume deals, 
that they must make up their minda to be book buyers^ and not 
to be frightened at tbe prices they will have to pay; It was at 
the peril of a man's life that he ventured three hundred years ago 
to b« m pos«e6sion of some of the books which this list contains, 
»nd if we want to posaess them now we cannot hope to get tbem 
below their market price." ' 

^ itmofft Out Gtnirmtui% of a Korfoik Himte, p, tx. 



150 



run TSBmjs m gbut Barriix 



I 

I 



The books to wh i ch Dr. Jessopp refers have become 
scarcer and more di^ciilt to obtain since be wrote. It has 
been frequentlj asserted that the Jesuits buy up old books 
which teli against tliera. If this be so it eeryes to explain 
their great scarcity. The Rev. Hugh Tootell, the author 
of Dodd's Church Eidort^, writing in 1742, atatea that: 
^*The same politic method h observed [hy the Jesuits] in 
regard of all who are infiuenced by tbem» and under their direc- 
tion ; who are cotnmonly forbidden either to read or purchase 
such books as might contribute towards setting them right 
in several matters, where false cotions bad taken possession 
of them to the prejudice of truth. To carry on thia con* 
trivance their way is to buy up, commit to the flames, and 
use several other uncomnaendable methods, to hinder the ■ 
spreading of such books as would give proper intelligence.'* * f 

The writings of Robert Parsons were generally, though 
not exclusively, of a seditious and traitorous character* Thia 
was specially the case with a book which he published in 
1592, with the title: Andrm Pkilopatri ad ElizabHhce Begiru^^ 
29 Not^m hris^ 1691^ prom u Igatum Bespon sio. I have no 
doubt that in this book Parsons accurately described the 
general teaching of his Order at the time ; indeed he claims 
for his teaching the general sanction of the whole of his 
Church, which from that day to this has never repudiated 
it. If the doctrines of Parsons were now carried into effect 
King Edward VII. would at once lose his Throne, and hia 
subjects would repudiate all aUegiancfi to him. This is what 
Parsons wrote; 



"The whole of Divines and Canonists do bold that it it certain, 
and of faith, that any Chriatiim Priiice whatsoever^ if be shall 
mai^ite^tly deHect from the Catholic religcion^ and endeavour to 
draw others ftom the same, doea preeeutly faU from all power 
and diji^ity, by ihe very force of human and Jjjvine law, and 
that al»o hifore n*iy *«i/«km of the Supreme Ptutor O'T judge tUnoviWfd 
againat Aijftj and thnt hia eubjecte whatsoever are free 6*om ftll 
obligAtiou of that oath, which tbey had taken for their allegianc« 



t DfHia, Jm Jfi^io^ f9r iAe CAmrck ffMioff of EmgUndt p, $04, 



PAESONa ON HSEETIOi.L EUinS 



ISl 



to bim na tbeir lawful Piinoo; lukd that they may Jind ought (if 
thov h&ve forces) drive out pucb a man na ati apostate or heretic, 
and a backslid&r from the Lord and ChrtHt, A.nd an enemy to the 
CommonweAlth, from all donainioo oT€r Chmtianji, lost he iufet.'st 
Others, or by hu eiatnple or commandment avert others frotn the 
faith, and that this coriaia, d«fiuit«, and undoubted opiaiait of the 
beat learned men ia wholly agreeable to the Apostolical doctrine/' ^ 

Parsons also vrote another book of auch a character that, 
hf Act of Parliament, it was declared to be high treason 
in any peraon to be found witli a copy in his possession. 
It was written in the interests of Spain^ and argued thai 
the Infanta was, by law and ri^ht, the next heir to the 
Throne of England afler the death of Queen Elisabeth. 
It was first p ublished in 1594, and was re - issued (Dr. 
Oliver says '* privately reprinted") in 1681, with the title 
of A Conference about the n^xt Succession to ihe Croitm 
of Engl<ind. A few extracts from this book may serre to 
sbow how unsafe it was to admit the Jesuits into her 
Kingdom : 

* Hereof it en^neth also that nothing in the world can bo justly 
exclude sn Heir Apparent £rom his Bucceesion as want of religion, 
nof any cause whatsoever jwatify and clear the conscience of the 
Commonwealth, or of particular men^ tbnt in this cade should reaist 
his entrance, «A if they jud^e him faulty in tbia point, which is 
tb« bead of all the re4t, and from wbich nil the rest do $erve. .«. 

** But you may say, perhaps, that 3l Paul epeaketh of an Infidel 
or Heathen, that denieth Christ plainly, and with whom the other 
party cannot liv^e without danger of ain and loc^tu^ hia fn-flh, which 
IB not the case of a Christian Princep though he be Bomewhat dif- 
lerdot from me in religit^n, to which ii answered that, supposing 
there ia one only religion that can be true among ChnBtiaos, a^ 
both reason atid Athauaaiua' Creed doth plainly teach us; and, 
moreover, seeing that to me there can be no other faith or religion 
available for my aaWation, than only that which 1 myeelf do believe, 
for that my own connkcience mu9t testify for me or against me ; 
cettain it ia tbal» iiuto me and my conscictnce, he which in any 
point belie veth other wisie than I do. and Btandeth wilfeilly in the 
aatne, ia an Inlidel, for that he btilieveth not that which in my 
Caitb and ^xtiificience ta the only and sole truth, whereby he mu«t 
be Bav^, And if our Sa.viour Himself , in hia Gospel, doth hold 
OOltain men to be held for heathens, not ao murh for diflTerence 



* Qiiot«4 by Sif John TbroelEniartoa (a RotAta CathoUe B4roaet)i In hi* l^Uer 
dddf^td ic ike esthetic Ckr^y of Enftand. Lon4oa, 1793^ pp- U^, 139. 



152 



TO JHUITS n 6II&1T BfttTAnC 



in faith And relipcm fta for lack of hnmilitj and obedience to th« 
Cburcb; bow tnucb more maj I hold him. io tbM, Id m^ opinion, 
ifl an enemy to th^ trutb; and, conflequetitly, &o long a« I have 
this opinioD of h\m^ albeit hu religion were nevor so true, yet bo 
tou^» £ £iar, a^ I hava tbia cODtTs.17 p^ranasion of him, I ehull do 
a^aizuC mj conecience^ and sin damnably in the eiK^^fc of God, to 
prefer him to a charge where he may draw others to his own 
error and perdition, wherein I do persuade m^'self that he 
remaineth . . /' 

"And now to apply all this to our purpose for Kni^land, and 
for the mntter we bare in hand, I affirm and hold, that for any 
man to give ki9 help, eotuenU or {umkinct, iomardi the maHnff /<Mr 
King whom he jndgath or b^Uevffh to h^ Javity m r^Jiffion^ and con- 
ecfjuently would advance either no religion, or the wrong, if he 
were in authority, is a most grifvota and damnahle sin to him that 
doth it, of what «ide aoever the truth be, or how good ox bad 
soever th« party ms.j be, that ia pref^^rred." * 



pArsons wrote another tmport&nt book in 1596, which 
remained in MS, for nearly one hundred years, when it was 
printed for the first time with an introduction by the Rev. 
Edward Gee, Chaplain in Ordinary to William III., from a 
MS. copy which had been presented to James IL, but which 
he left behind when he ran away bom England* It bore 
the title of The Jesuits Memorial for the Intended Btforma^ 
fimi of England Under their first Popish Prince. For a 
century copies in MS, had been circulated, but it was care- 
fiil kept out of the hands of Protestants. The author of 
A Replie Unto a Certaine Libell^ writing in 1603» mentions 
the work and says that Parsons himself showed it to several 
priests, but that it M^as kept " secretly-'* And Parsons hi m- 
aelf mentiong the work, in on anonymoua Toliime from his 
pen, dated 1602, and gives lengthy extracts from it. * Any- 
thing which Parsons wrote necessarily had a great deal of 
influence amongst the Roman Catboliea in England, and 
their countrymen abroad, who were brought under the 
teaching of the Jesuits, for, as a modern Jesuit reminds ub, 
to him ^^was committed the general charge of the Jesuit 
mission in England^ and of the establiahments on the Con- 

■ A tMn/erme^ Ji^mt /A^ y^rtSvMtMiiam. Edition ISSl, Fart I, pp. lO0-*)Ti. 

» ,f JIaHi/iftt0ti»f4 0/ ike Greof Fatiy, 1505. Chmpter V, 



I 



( 



I 



A JESUIT EEFOBMATlOir OF BKOlAKD 



153 



tinoni eonnccied with it." ^ It is also important to bear in 
mind that Parsons' scheme for the RefomiatJon of England, 
when the next Roman Catholic comes to the British Throne, 
has been generally approred of in recent years by the 
official organ of the English Jesuits, w^ho, I douht not| 
would, ware circumstances favourable, gladly see it enforced 
on the fii^t opportunity. 

And this is whfit Parsons proposes shall be done, should 
ft Eoman Catholic King again come to the British Throne. 
Only ** known Catholics*' **are to be used and employed by 
the Commonwealth in all principal charges, rooms, and 
offices/' * As for " enemies and obstinate heretics/* all the 
cunning of a Jesuit is seen in the way they are to be treated. 

* And first of all/' writes PftrBOna. "perchaace it would be pood, 
coDftidering the present etatfi ofth« realm, and how generally anddeop- 
ly it isp and boe been, plunR;ed in all kiud^ of hereaieo, not to press 
•.ey m«.n*s coGscience oi (ft* h^gi'niiingf for mattera of reUgJon^/or 9om# 
Jew yivKTv; to the end that every man may more boldly and t>on* 
fidently utter his wounda, and bo be cared thereof, which other- 
wlae he would cover, deny, oi (iige^mble to hib greater hurt, and 
more dangerous corruption of the whole body; but yet it may be 
prorided jointly that ih\M tol^raiion be. &nty tnih nmh a* live qttieiljf, 
amd are detirou* to be informed of the truths and do no* teack and 
pfmaeh^ or nxk to infect otherx; and by experience it hath been 
meeo that thia kind of suffering and bearing for a time hath done 
great good, and ea^ed many diBiciiltiea in divera towns rendered 
up in the Low Countries^ which b^ing mitigated at th6 be- 
tcinning with thtB entranca of clemency, never greatly cared for 
EetVflJes afterwards. Yet do I give notice that my meaning is not 
0np <0By to p^r»uad^ hereby tfiat libfrty of rdigum to live hovf a man 
ttill nhouid b§ permilt^d to ftny ptr*on in any Christian Cotnrtwn* 
^p^ih, for any oaiiae or respect whatsoever; from whioh 1 am 
&o fax off in Tuy Judgment and ftffection, as I think no one thing 
to be to dftnf^eroufi, dishonourable, or more offeDsive to Almighty 
0<m1 in the world, than that any Prince should permit the Ark of 
Ismel »ad Dagon, God and the Devil^ to stand and be honoured 
together within bia realm or country. But that which I talk: of, u 
a certain connivance or toleration of magistrate* onty for a eeri^in 
Umff &nd with partinular conditions and exceptioua, that no meietings, 
a93trmbti^;$^ preachinff or perverting 0/ othert be used, but that wuch as 
be quiet and modest people, and have never beard, perhai>a, the 
grounda of Galholic religion, may uee the freedom of their con- 
sciences to osk^ learn, and to be inalmcted /err the gpace pr^cribedj 

1 ne Momth, JAQUirj 1697, i^ 3V 
» The Jet^iU* Memwri^, p. 2». 



1S4 



THK JESTTtTi Vt QEliT BBfrAiW 



without danger of the LikW a* of anjr enqaiiy to bo mode upon 
ibem to inform themaelras of th« fcrath." i 

P&rsons saj^ thai lie would, for a time, allow public 
discussions on controversial matters between learned Pro- 
tesU>i]ts and Koman Catholics, bi]t he thinks that ^* m a qaiti 
and established Catholic Slate, disputations with heretics 
were not to be presumed profitable/* * As to ** wilful 
apostates, or malicious persecutors, or obstinate perverters 
of others/* he would leave them to be dealt with by the 
authority of the State, reminding the rulers, however, that 
**as God doth not govern the whole Monarchy but by 
rewards and chastisements ; and that as Hehathhadasweetband 
to cherish the well -affected, bo hath He a strong arm to 
bind the boi&terous, stubborn, and rebellious; even so the 
very like and same must be the proceeding of a perfect 
Catholic Prince and Commonwealth." * There is no doubt 
that by these *^ boisterous, stubborn, and rebellions ^^ persons, 
the Jesuit primarily had in his mind those Protestants who 
should persist in refusing obedience to the Church of Borne, 
and, perhaps, seek to convert Roman Catholics to the Pro- 
testant faith. That sort of thing would neirer be allowed, 
where the Jesuit Order had a free hand in a Roman Catholic 
country. In Protestant lands they claim the right to pro- 
selytise, but Protestants hare, in their opinion, no right to 
proselytise whatever, and their efforts in this direction must 
be put down by brute force, in order to deal with persons 
of this class. Parsons suggests that as soon as possible after 
we have a Roman Catholic SoTereign, it would be well to 
restore that blood-stained institution, the so-called '* Holy 
Inquisition/^ tiut the wily and cunning Jesuit would do the 
thing carefully, and therefore this is what he recommends: 

**FoT the execution of all these notes and advertisements that here 

•je set duwn about the Uef^ormfttion in Englnnci, nothing will he 
of BO much nioinent txs Lo buvo certalti prudeiib and fiealoun men 

I T»r J^tuiW Memorial, pp. a2— 34. 



% 



I 



{ 



A asmt nronuTRnr or BNa.AiD 155 

git !b antborfty by the Ptinea, and Fftritmment, and Pope's 
olineoB, to attend prineipaUj and as it were only to this aflair, 
and to be bound to give a continual account what they do in the 
game. And for that the name of InquuiHon may be eomemhai odioiu 
amd ojfmmwe ai lAe hegimying, perhaps it woald not be amias te 
name these men a 'Council of Befonnation.'" > 

This Council is to look after the property of the Church of 
Eof^and, all of which we may be quite sure will be taken 
from the Protestant clergy ; though there would not be much 
difficulty, I think, in inducing our modem Ritualistic dergj 
to come to terms with the new "Council of Reformation." 
And then, Parsons thinks it would be a good idea if some 
**new Order were erected also in our country, of Religious 
Knights, and that their rule might he to fight against heretics^ 
in whatsoerer country they should be employed/^ "And 
ibis Order of new English Knights might quickly be made 
a Tory flourishing Order, being permitted also to marry." ' 
This Council must also see that all "public and prirate 
Libraries be searched and examined for books, as also all 
Bookbinders, Stationers, and Booksellers* shops, and not only 
keniieal book$ and pamphltia^ but also profane, rain, 
laseirious, and other such hurtful and dangerous poisons are 
utterly to be remoTed, bumt^ suppressed, and severe order 
and punishment appointed for such as shall conceal these 
kinds of writings.'^ ' A law like this would soon make 
trade bad for our modem bookbinders and booksellers, and 
certainly it would be death to Freedom of the Preas. 

When this Council of Reformation has ended the work 
for which it is established, the Jesuit suggests, that: — "It 
would be Tery much necessary that they should leave some good 
and sound manner of Inquisition established for the con- 
servation of that which they have planted ; for that, during 
the time of their authority, perhaps it would be best to 
spare the name of Inquisition at the first beginning, in so 
new and green a state of religion as ours must needs be, 

> Tkt Jeiuiti' Mfmoriai, p. 70. 

s JHd., p. 79. > nid., p. M. 



156 



rtxt JtBTsm m ostAt bsitain 



alUr fto man J jears of here^, Atheism, and other dissolutions, 
may chance affmd and exasperate more thftn do good; A«r 
afterwards^ it kIU he necrssanj lo hrm§ it »«, either by that 
or some other name^ as sball be thought most convenient 
for the time, for timt without this care, all will slide down 
and fall ugain.** * 

Parsons neit proposes to reform Parliament. He adviaea 
that Abbots as well aa Bishops be admitted into the House 
of Lords, and Deans, Archdeacons, and Monks into the 
House of Commons, As to choosing ordinary iaymen as 
Members of Parliament, no candidate must be allowed to 
come forward until he ban been approved of bj some 
Roman Catholic Biehop. '*And for Knights of the Shire/* 
writes Parsonja, ^* perhaps it would not be amias io give 
some hand in the matter, at leastwise for a time, to the 
Bishop of the Diocese, to judge of their Tirtue and forward- 
ness in religion, and to confirm their election, or to hare a 
negative voice, when cause should be offered^ and thai thetf 
tn aih pu blic profession of th e ir fa ith before the ir elect ion 
could be ad milted^ or they take their waj towards the Par- 
liament. ' Under these regulations we maj be quite sure 
that no Protestant whatsoever would ever be allowed to sit 
in the Britii^b House of Commons, since none of them could 
make such a '^public profession of faith *^ as would satiaiy 
a Roman Catholic Bishop. 

And when the first Parliament of a Roman Catholic King 
meets, Parsons suggests that its second decree should be: 
'* That ever^ tnan be m^orn to dffend the Catholic Eontan faith ; 
and, moreover, that U be made treason for ever for any man 
io propose anything for chafjge thereof, or for the introduction 
of heresy." * After this is done, the Parliament mnst proceed 
** to abrogate and revoke alt laws whatsoever that have been 
made at any lime, or by any Prince or Parliament, directly 
or indirectly in prejudice of the Catholic Boraan religion, 



' JAf Jeiuth* HtmariiLt, p. 98. 

» /*irf„ p. 10 K « IHd., p. 106. 



I 



I 
I 



I 



A JraUIT lifiFUKUATlON UF ENQLAKU 



157 



and to restore and put in full authority again all old laws 
that ever were in uae in £iigUnd Jn favour of the eanse, 

and against heresies aud heretlca." ' By this plan no doubt 
we should aoon see again the daya of Queen Mary aud the 
fires of Smith£etd. Amongst ih& niatters the new Parliameiit 
must gife early attenttoii to, is: ^'The decree or law for 
the faithful restitution of Ahbey Lands and ecclesiastical 
refenuea/' and that as *^ among the first points of importance/* 
The n«w Roman Catholic King^s Council muBt, &nys Par- 
sons, **be made with great cart;/' and no heretic allowed 
to be a member of it, **for that if any one person thereof 
should be either infected with heresy^ or justly auspected, or 
not fervent nor forward in the Catholic religion, and in the 
iteformation necessary to be made for good establishment 
of the same, it would be to the great prejudice of the 
cau»e, and of his Majesty and Kealm/^ * The King must 
" exclude from his Privy Council ^ and other places of chief 
chaise and government, not only men known or justly 
feared to be favourers of heresy and heretics, that will never 
be secure to God or his Majesty, but also cold and doubt- 
ful professors of Ciitholic religion, untU they be proved by 
long tract of time.'^ ' 

Here we get a view of The Jitsuixs* Ekolisu Utopia ! 

This is what the Jesuits would like our country to become ! 
It may be said they have no chance of realising it; but be 
it remembered that the Jesuits are very patient as well as 
persevering. They do not expect to gain all they want in 
a day, and they know very well that they are not at all 
likely ever to secure aU that Robert Parsons hoped for. 
But if they cannot get everything they need, they stand a 
chance of securing a great deal more than Protestants sup- 
pose. Parsons' Plan of Campaign holds good not only for 
the mother country, but for her Colonies and Depettdmcies 



' TAe Jmits' Mtmon*{, p. 107. 

> /W., p, SOS. ■» /3m/,, p. 307. 



158 



TBS JlSOITi IK QBSIT UUTXOI 



itlso. And the JesaitJ are working out there^ with greater 
prospects of snccdss, in some iDstaneaB, than m England, 
Where the majority of the popuUtion io a Colonj, or a 
Terj large proportion, is RoDum CathoLie, the Jesuits hare, 
for them, good ground to work upoa, likelj to produce 
abundant fruita for their laboiir- 

The English JeauiU of the present generation hare^ as I 
have already intimated, given a general approbation to the 
scheme of Father Parsons^ and in doing so hare been careful to 
utter no word of censure of those intolerant propo^U which 
I hare just quoted* The general approbation was given in 
the official organ of the Order in England^ for which, not 
only the Engliah Jesuits but the whole Society alao ia 
responsible, aioce none of ite members are allowed to print 
anything without the sanction of the authorities. The 
writer of the article I am about to cite waa the editor of 
the official organ, the ReT. R. F. Clarke, a prominent and 
influential member of the Society of Jesua. It appeared in 
the Months for October 1889, with the title of "A Jesuit 
Scheme for the Reformation of England/^ and is arowedljr 
a review of Parsons^ Memorial for the Meformatlon of En^iand^ 
as published by Qee, in 1690. No doobt whaterer is thrown 
on the genuineness of the work^ of which it appears several 
M5p copies are still extant. Mr. Clarke looks npon the book 
as one of practical value for the present time, which ought 
not to be forgotten, since it *'bfta a number of points of 
interest at the present time;*^ and he thinks that Parsons 
** acted with prudent foresight in drawing'" it up. '*A copy 
of the book was presented to King James," writes Mr. Clarke^ 
'^soon after his accession. If he had followed its directions, 
his chance of remaining King of England would at least 
have been far greater, and iht salutari/ measures U reeom-' 
mends would have retarded, even if they did not entirely 
prevent the rebellion.'^ In other worde, if James had not 
been in such a hurry to show his tyrannical powers against 
Protestants, and had put on the Jesuits' mask of tolerance 



I 



I 
I 



A JI8UIT BBFOnUTIOV OF ENOLAHD 159 

and chftrify for a while, he would haTe been more success- 
fol. That mask of tolerance is still occasioiially worn bj the 
Jesuits; it serres to hide from a too confiding Protestant 
public their real designs. Mr. Clarke further states that: — 

"F&ther Panona' object in his book, however^ is not to criticii»e 
the poet, but to provide such pbuis for the future that Catholics 
may aTail themMlves of them if the oecation offert of restoring 
the Church in England. He is constructive throughout, and his 
oonstruetiTe scheme is not only that of a good and prudent man, 
but of one who knows by experience the nature of the evils to 
be met and iht he»i remstUet for them. Ho is very practical, and 
sometimes enters into details into which we shall not attempt to 
foUow him. But the main features of his proposal are of permanent 
miermi, not merely as a historical study, but as affording $otiie 
^ahtabU saggetttont for the guidtmee of CathoUc$f even in circum- 
stances very different from those which the headstrong House 
of Stuart turned to such ill account" > 

Kow the "main features** of Parsons* proposal were 
undoubtedly the sappresdon of Protestantism in England, 
and the establishment of Roman Catholicism in its place, 
and that by means of intolerance of the most extreme type. 
Yet here we have the modem Jesuits assuring us that the 
** bed remedies** for the evils complained of are to be found 
in Parsons' book, which affords "some valuable suggestions 
for the guidance of Catholics ** whenever they get a chance 
to enforce the "main features** of the "Jesuit scheme for 
the Befartnatian(?) of England." There are some good 
tilings in the scheme I willingly admit, but they are not 
its "main features**; on the contrary they take quite a 
subordinate position. It is a question whether the British 
Government ought any longer to tolerate in its dominions 
an Order which has so recently given its official approbation 
to such an outrageously unjust and intolerant scheme as 
that of Robert Parsons, and that without excepting any of its 
intolerant provisions. 

The JssuiTs^ English Utopu would be an uncomfortable 
place for Protestants to live in. 

A Tkf Uomih, October 1889, p. 191. 



160 



TU^ JB^OITB IK O&KAT BtElTlIN 



And here it may be well to mention another book of 
Robert Parsons^ containing Jesuit teaching on Equivocation, 

a right utidersUndkig of which is necessary for tliose who 
have to enter into controversy with the Ordiir in the 
twentieth century^ since hh teaching is that which sub- 
Ktaatially obtains at the present time. Parsoad thought that 
it wa^ wrong to tell Lies, but it was quite Jawful, under 
certaiu circuinstances to equivocate, or to u.se mental reserva- 
tions. The conduct of hia own disciples is aptly described by 
a modem Jesuit Father, John Morria, who wrote: —" The only — 
difference between modern morality anJ that which Father f 
Gerard acted [over whom Parsons acted as Superior] was that 
now-a-daya men say, * Have recourse to evasions.* Then men 
said, ^ Satf what you tike, U ia their fault if ike^ think U 
true.^ It is evident,*' continues Father Morris, '* thai of the 
two cotirees of proceeding, the plain-spoken old way is the 
least open to abuse/* * And he defines an equivocation 
thua:— "An * equivocation * was a false expression used under 
auch circnmstancea that if they to whom it was addressed 
were deceived by it, it was their own fault. They had 
then no right to the truth, and even in some eaaea it would ■ 
have been a sin to tell them the truth.*' ' We need not 
therefore wonder very much when Father Taunton tells us 
that **we should have sufficient cause for distrusting any 
statement which comes to us on the unsupported testimonj 
of Robert Parsona,"* 

Now as to this book of Parsons*, published by bim in 
1607, When treating about Auricular Confession he is not 
content with averting that a priest must not reveal anything 
revealed to him in the Confessional, lie goes farther and 
recommends the priest, if questioned about what he has heard, 
to adopt a course of conduct which ordinary men of Bense 

^ TA^ Comdition of CatAoHa Umdtr /am^ L Edited hj Jolui MofTift, SJ„ 

p. CCI. 

* TiUDton'i EtiUrp of the Jetuiti in Snpfawi, p. SI*. 



I 



I 



BQUITOCATIOH AND MEHTIL BISEBTAnOH 161 

can l^g and peijuiy; and he even a£Srms that the priest 
would commit a sin who did not bo act. Parsons, however, 
-woidd dignify such conduct by the names of mental reserration 
and equiTOcation, as the case might be. He writes thus: 

**li % priest who has heard another man's Confession should be 
demanded whether such a one had confided such a sin unto 
him or not, though by no ways, nor upon any consideration what- 
•oerer he may tell a lie [I], according to our former doctrine; yet 
may he not only say, ne$cio, 'I know nothing,' but answer directly 
tbftt he hath not confessed any such thing unto him, albeit he 
had so done; and that the said confessor may not say, hut ttoear 
ate ihi$ anawer of his^ understanding and reserving in his mind, 
that the penitent hath not confessed the same unto him so as 
he may utter it.** ^ 

Parsons adds that the Confessor "is bound also in con- 
science^' to act thus, "under grerious sln^*; and that "no 
denial of matters heard or known by Confession, in what 
sort soerer, can be a lie, or perjury.'* * But it is not 
merely in regard to matters heard in Confession that 
equirocation and mental reservation may be used. 

"Wherefore," he writes, "seeinjj the obligation not only of con- 
cealing secrets heard in Confession, but of those alto that he se- 
cular out of Confesaion^ is so great, especially of those that be 
public and appertain to the Commonwealth, it followeth that when 
a man shall be unjustly pressed to utter the same, he may not 
only deny to utter them, which he must do upon pain of dam- 
nation as you have heard; but also dissemble to know them by 
any way of lawfnl speech, that may have a true sense in his 
meaning, though in his that presseth to know them, it may be 
otherwise.... Knowing the said secrets of the Commonwealth, they 
may a$ prmUe penon$ chny to know the same, with this or like 
true reservation of mind, so as they are bound, or may utter 
the same unto him that unlawfully demandeth." * 

Another case in which equivocation may be used is that 
of a defendant in a criminal action. But in this case, says 
Parsons, if the defendant is tried by a "lawful Judge," 
who conducts the faial lawfully, that is "according to form 
of law and equity/' then he must "answer directly, truly, 

■ J TretOite Tending to MUigtUhn, By Robert ParMna. 1A07, pp. 407— 40S. 
> Ibid., p. 409. * Hid,, pp. 418, 418. 

11 



162 



THE JEStJIT8 IN GREAT QBITAIH 



and plainly, according to the mind and intention of the 
demander, and not to bis own, and to confess the truth 
without art, evasion, equiirocation, or other shift or declin- 
ation,^' * ■ But now/' he continues, " when the Judge is not 
lawful, or not competent at least in that cause; then all 
ihe9B foresaid o^i^athnA do cease in the defendant . . . When 
thia, I saj, or any of this fallath out, then hold the former 
Doctors that all the foresaid obligations of true answering 
unto him do no more bind.'' ' *^ The famous Doctor Nau&r 
, , . provetb that the said defendant being so pressed unjustij 
to answer, when be hath no other way left bo defend him- 
selff may truly, and without any lie at all, say * lie did it 
not,' with the foresaid reservation of mind, that he * did it 
not,* in some such sense^ as in his own meaning, and in the 
ears of Almighty God is true; though the unjust Judge, 
taking it in another sense, is deceived thereby/^ ' M 

"Wherefore all these anthorfl do conclude that, in the foresaid 
cns&, when injury is done agaitiet Uw, and when no appellation or 
oUier refuge ia permitted^ nor anj doubtfulness of amphibology 
or words C4in take plAce, thou is the oppre9i?ed defendant to tarn 
himaelf to ^Imijichty God the righteoufi Judge of &U, and framing 
to himsolf Bome true reserved senae, may aay, *I have not done 
it/ 'I have not aeen him/ 'I haTe not killed him/ and the like, 
undcnstanding that he hath not done it so^ as the ex&mmationor 
punishment thereof is subject to that tribunal, or he subject to 
their jurisdiction, whereby he is bound to utter the same unto 
him,*** 

It is eTen lawful, according to Parsons, for the defendant 
to confirm ]m equirocatioas and mental reserrations by a 
solemn oath. ^*The second rule/' he says^ **ia that if the 
defendant should be demanded an oath by the judge about a 
secret crime committed by him, and this contrary or besides the 
order of law, be may with asecure conscience answer^ andswear 
that be hath not committed that crim«, nor knoweth any-- 
thing of it.'^* "The substance of School doctrine in this 
pointf and of Canon Lawyers is, that when a man is offered 

1 J TreaAue Temdim^ io Mitig^itm. By RoWt Puwkl*, ICOT, pp. 41S — US. 
i Hid,, p. 419. 1 IkU., pp. in. 334. i mi., p. 4>$. 



EQUITOCAtlON AND HENTAL OEaERTATION 



163 



injurj, or unjustly urji^ed to utter a secret, that without liis 
hurt, or loss, or public damage he maj oot do; then is it 
lawful for him without Ijing or perjuiy, to answer either in 
word or ooth^ according to his owd intention and meaning, 
SO it be true, though the hearer i>e deceived therewith.^^ * 

In another of his books Parsons explains and defends the 
opinion of Emmanuel Sa on this subject, who, he says, 
teaches that: *^The priest that heareth ConfeBsions may law- 
fnlly swear that he knoweth nothing, nor that he hath heard 
anything in Confession; understanding in his mind, so as 
k4 is bound to uUer the same. Again, the penitent ma^ 
sw$ar that he aaid nothing, or no s»ch thing, as he is 
demanded in Confession, though he had said it. And, more- 
oyer, in another place: He that is not lawfully demanded, 
may deny that he knoweth the thing he is demanded 
{though he know U indeeil)^ understanding in his miud, that 
he knoweth it not so, as he is bound to open it to him.'* * 

This teaching of Robert Parsons, which would, in many of 
the afoirB of Life, undermine all confidence between man and 
man, was the common opinion of the Jesuits then, as it is 
in the twentit^th century, though modern Jesuits may differ 
aa to how the thing is to be done in particular instances. 
Father Henry Qamett, S.J,, whose connection with the Gun- 
powder Plot has made his name notorious in English history, 
sanctioned equivocation and mental reservation in terras quite 
as strong as those of his Superior, Father Parsons. He 
wonld allow it, not merely as a defence against attack, but 
for the purpose of securing some poaitive good. ** Neither/* 
wrotd G&mett, '*is equivocation at all to be juBtified, but in 
ease of necessary defence from injustice or wrong, or of the 
ottainin^ of some good of great importance when there is no 
danger of harm to others,"* Garuett even permits the U3e 

* d TVmAtftf femdimf to Miii^atum. By Bobcrt Pirioai, 1007, p, itl. 



164 



TBt JEmriTS tn 6BEAT BmiTint 



of equivocation at the solemn hour of deaths which is a p«u- 
liarlj horrible thing, just as a man is going into the presence 
of hiB Maker, One could hardly beLieve thftt even a Jesuit 
would sanction such deception at such a solemn moment, were 
it not that we possess the eridence id Garaett^s own band- 
writing. This is what be teaches: 

**But in case a man he urged at the hour of his dtaih^ 
it is latrful for to equitocaie^ with aueh due circumstance as 
are required in his life. An example we may bring in an- 
other matter. For the Divines hold ihat in some case a 
man may be bound to conceal something in his Confessioii« 
because of some great harm which may ensue of it. And 
as he may do so in his life, so may he at his death, if the 
danger of the harm continue atilL 

'*The case being propounded, supposing that t know 
Gerard acquainted with this [Gunpowder] TreasoBj and 
having be**n often demanded thereof, I still denying it by 
way of equivocation, whtfh^r at the hour of my deaths either 
natural or by course of Justice, I may by equivocation seek 
to clear him again. I answer that in case I be not urged* 
I may not, but I must leave the mal^ter in case in which ft 
stands; but if I be urged, then I may clear him by equi- 
vocation, whereas otherwise my silence would be accounted 
an ticcuBation/^ ' 

Garnett further affirmed that equivocation " may be with- 
out perjury confirmed by oath, or by any other usuf*l way, 
though it were by receivitt^ tiie Sacrament^ if just necessity 
so require." ' No wonder that Father Taunton declares of 
Garnett: '*As it is, we are forced to conclude that no 
reliance can be put upon any word he says, unless it be 
supported by other evidence." ' And even Dr. Lingard, 
when dealing with the case of Father Garnett^ goes so far 
as to say that: **By seeking shelter under equivocation, he 

* Mmot^ of ih4 Efksluk Frorinae, SJ"., rol. iv., pp. 190, l»L 

* Uitt,, ^. 101. 

' TiUQfcoti** ffisUfy iff tht Jf*mU in En^Und p. SIS. 



I 
I 

I 

I 

I 



IQUIYOCITION AND IfSNTAt BE8ERTATI0N 165 

had deprired himself of the protection which the truth 
might have afforded him; nor could he in such circumstances 
reasonably complain, if the King refused credit to his asserr- 
ations of innocence, and permitted the law to take its 
course." ' 

It is admitted by a Jesuit writer on "Equivocation and 
Lying," in the Month, of July, 1898, that: "Nothing has 
80 powerfully contributed to injure Father Gametrs cause, and 
disparage his memory as his doctrine and practice respecting 
what he termed ^ equirocation.' WhateTer may be thought 
of his connection with the Powder Plot, historians are unani- 
iDOUs in declaring that his professed sentiments <m this 
subject abundantly sufficed to justify his condemnation, that 
no OoTemment could acquit a man whose principles struck 
at the root of all morality, and deprived his own protesta- 
tions of all credit." The writer devotes the whole of his 
article to a consideration of Gamett's theory and practice 
on this subject, and certainly he treats it in a thoroughly 
Jeenitical manner. He asserts he does not write on Gamett's 
doctrine "as advocating or justifying its adoption, but in order 
to a satisfactory judgment on Father Garnett's position in its 
regard," which, he thinks " has been largely misunderstood." ' 
Instead, however, of denouncing that doctrine and practice in 
the strongest terms, as was done by Lingard, this Jesuit writer 
makes every possible excuse for the culprit, and whitewashes 
him to the utmost of his power. "On the merits of such 
theory it is not," he says, "necessary to attempt any 
pronouncement,'' though ordinary persons would think it 
very necessary indeed to do so. The worse things he can 
say against Gamett are contained in the following sentence : 
— "The instances in which he [Garnekt] put his theory into 
practice, three in number, were most singularly infelicitous^ 
and certainly ^impdUie^; for, as a very kindly biographer 
observes, his subterfuges and equivocations were so unskU' 

> tingard's HUtorf of Eu^Umd. Bdition 1844. vol. ix., p. 67. 
s Tk4 M<fniA, Jaly 1898, pp. 7, 8. 



166 



TBK JESUITS m eSUT BBHUn 



fuUff framed as io be easily deiectod^ And show tbai he was 
but a clumsy perfonm^r on this line of defence.** ' And thi« 
k all the modern Jesuit has to say against eonduct which 
baa merited the sternest reprobation of trnth-loTing men of 
ererj denomination! His greatest fault was that he was 
not auccesKfal in deceiring bia opponents, through Lack of 
clevemeai! The article in tbe Month is« in reality, an apology 
for Crarnett, leading a candid reader to beliere that tbe 
writer ia^ in realitj, in full sympathy with both the theory 
and practice of a prominent member of his Order at the 
commencement of the seventeenth century^ 

It ia only fair to add that the advocacy of equivocation 
and mental reservation has now become common amongst 
Homan Catholic theologians who are not Jesuitfif though I 
do not think many of them advocate the one or the other 
in such an extreme form. In the Roman Catholic Dictionary, 
iaaued with the Imprimatur of Cardinal Yaughan, we are 
iold that *^ almost all theologians bold that it is eometimea 
lawful to use a mental reservation which may be, though 
very likely it will not be, understood from the circumstances ; *' 
and that : — ** No doubtt equivocation is always an evil^ 
though not always a sin, and the lesa of it there is the 
better." * 



I 
I 
I 
I 



* The MtmtA, Jiilj- 19*8. p. 18. 

* rJW CatAvfie iJiciwwrj, Editiva 18»I, pp. 6S0. «IL 



CHAPTER VI 

WORE ASSASSINATION COXSPlRACmS— THE 
GUNPOWDER PLOT AND THE JESUITS 



BiTWKEN the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the death 
of Queen Elizabeth several attempts were made to ausiissittata 
her, in which the names of several Je-suits were more or less 
mixed ap. Although, to oar modern notiona^ it seems strango 
that any professed Ministers of the Oospel should so far 
forget its principles as to sanction murder under any cir* 
ctimatances, of the fact itself there can be no donbt whatever. 
I have already called attention to the startling statements, on 
this point, of the learned Roman Catholic historian, Lord Acton.' 
We need not, therefore, be surprised that so many attempts 
were made to assassinate Queen Elisabethj in some instances 
even with Pontifical sanction. Tet in dealing with the attempts 
towards the close of her life we are met with many difficult- 
iea in forming a fair and accurate opinion as to the evidence 
on which the alleged plotters were executed, and of the part 
the Jesuits took in these transactions. The witnesses were 
not always to be trusted. Many of them were spies in the 
pay of the GoTemment, and although we cannot reject their 
evidence altogether, for frequently it was reliable, yet the 
testimony of such witnesses needs support from other quarter?. 
We must not believe every story ^ merely because it was agabst 
the Jesuits. Major Martin Hume, while describing several 
of the alleged plots to murder the Queen, is constrained to 
admit that: — ** Though many of the so-called murder con- 
spiracies far wh i ch p erf e ctly innocent C atholics suffered 
were thus elaborated, there were undoubtedly several that 

> StfTM p. 89. 



168 



THS Jtsmtfl m GftRiT fiRTTATM 



were in some dej^ee dangeroas and real. Thej all emanated 
from the same small group of exiremiBta in Flanders, wiih 
the more or less open conniTance of the Si>anish Ministers 
there — though probably at this jancture without the aid of 
Philip himself. The proposed perpetrators were usually 
some of the wild^ reckless swashbucklers, English or Irish, 
who swaggered, drank, and diced in the Flemish dtles. 
There aeems to have heen no attempt at concealment. We 
are told that these plots were regularly discussed at a council 
table at which sat such men as Stanley, Owen, Jacques 
Francis (Stanley V Burgimdiaa lieutenant), and even some 
of the Jesuit priests, such as Holt, Sherwood, and Walpole, 
are said to have giyen their approval/* ' 

Early in 1S94 an Irlsliman named Patrick Collen was 
executed for an attempt to assassinate the Queen. Most 
of the witnesses, who apparently were not personally exam- 
ined in Court in this remarkable case, testified that, while 
residing on the Continent, they had been nrged by Jesuit 
priests to murder the Queen. In some instances the Jesuits 
admitted having met Uie witnes^ses abroad^ but denied that 
they gave them any encouragement. In thia it is quite as 
hard to believe the Jesuits as to believe the witnesses. By 
means of mental reservations and equivocations the Jesuits 
were often able to deceive even the astutest of their enemies. 
Yet there is nothing improbable in the evidence of these 
witnesses, whose testimony against the Jesuits I now proceed 
to give my readers, 

William Polwhele testified that, while on the Continent, a 
man named Jacques ** wished him to come to England to 
kill the Queen, sayiug that no action could be more glorious 
than cutting off such a wicked member, who is likelj to 
overthrow all Christendom. Soon alter they sent Hesketinto 
England. ^ Went to Father Sherwood [a Jesuit], and 

) TVMfffJi mud Flot, Bj Miitin A- S. Hume, p. 100. 

' Hft^ket iv^A i«nt to iaiuee th« E&rl af I)«rbjF to entef iiilo ft plot by wKleb 
b« wvnld l>ecom« Kinj affingltad «a Ihe deiU of £]^»b«lb, oq the groaud thai be 



I 



I 

I 



I 

I 
I 



tTlSFKCI AGlIlfaT THB JeStTfTS 



169 



oS'ercd to do it resolutely, if he had a fit opportunitj. 
Jacques said it wa.s a motion of the Holj Qhost.'" *'When 
be told Father Sherwood of hia motioQ to go to £ngland 
to kill the Queen, Sherwood said he was a fool for not 
undertaking it sooner, when he was moved to it, as he then 
might bare had the honour of it, but that Patrick Collen 
waa gone for the same service, and more were going every 
daj. . . Has often beard Jacques say that he did not esteem 
the killing of PereZj who has done all the hurt he can, 
nor the killing of the Lord Treasurer, as he ifl old; and if 
he were taken away some other as ill or worse would cone 
in his place* nor the killing of any one else sare the 
Queen; and that a man would hazard as much by enter- 
prising the killing of another person as the Queen herself, 
and neither he nor Father Holt [a Jesuit] would deal with 
any but for the killing of the Queen, Heard Father Sherwood 
reprove Edmund Habey, Bervant to Sir Thomas Tresham, 
for undertaking to poieou the Lord Treasurer, aa Captain 
Jacques would not bear of any being meddled with but the 
Queen/" 

Hugh Cahill, an Irishman, testified that; 

** Being in Brua^els iu May, 1692, John Daniel), an Irish fifentla- 
man, itiibrmed hitn^ on pledge ofiie^recy, that Sir WiJIiaiu Stanley, 
Faiber Holl, and Hu^ti Oweiij waoted U> employ a tall, reaolute, 
and decperale Iriabman to go to EuKland to kill the Queen^ pre- 
ferring a fltraUKeT to one of Sir WiHiarn's followers, aA leas likely 
to be suspected ; aod that if the eiaminate would agree with them 
to do it, l^^y would give him money, and he, Daniel), would 
accompany bim to Eu^land, and reveal iL to the Queeu ur Lord 
Treasurer, that Her llajeaty might look better to her safety. ' There- 
opon weut i?itb Daniell to Father Holt at BnisaelH, where they 
afao fouDd Father Archer, the Jesuit, and Hugh Owen, to whom 
Daniell said he had brought a special man, who bad served the 
King of Spain mider airange captains^ aie tbey deflired, and that 



«•■ ta the liDt of 6iiceeMi<iD. Hovket'i JDitructtQ&a ir* printed ia tbi €Mi 
F*p€n, Kt*t«rinl MSS. Coriiinif«iod, trol. iv., )»p. 461 — 63. 

* Ihid^ p. 45G. 

* 111 «th«r wordi^ tbey thoald pUf t^ tnitor to t3»0H ^Tto «mp|«y«4 tit^m. 



170 



TRl JSSUtTS in OBtiT BBtTilH 



be hfld promised to do the deed thej had so often wished don«;. 
The^ BAid tbftt it would be ft most bleesed deed for hue, a. aoldier, 
lo kill the Queen, us by it h« would win Heftven^ ^nd l>ecoziie a 
Bftiot if he should be killed^ and that he that should do it would 
be chronicled for ever, . * » Two or throe days afterwards, Daoiell 
brought him 100 goMen crowns, and said that Father Archer, the 
Je:«uit, had sent it from Hugh Owen^ according to promise^ in part 
payment. . . . 

'Meanwhile Father Archer, an trish, and Father Walpole, an 
English Jeauitp carne to Calais, and bearinf^ that eiaminate had 
Tiot itone over to En(?ln.nd according to promise. Father Archer 
found great fault with him for having lingered in his busineas; 
said that Holt, Owen, and Stanley were very angry at his delay, 
earnestly |>crsuading him to go forward in that godly and lauu* 
able enterpii^je to kill the Queen, and promised that he and Wal- 
pole would pray to God for hie good speed." * 

The mail, John Daniell litso gave bis testimon;, fully 
coiifiroiing that of Ilugb CahilL He said: — 

''On S May, 15D2, being in the Jesuits' garden at Brusflels, J am«i 
Archer, a Jesuit bom in Kilkenny, told him that be had been sent 
lo him by Sir William Stanley and Hugh Owen, to let him under- 
stand of a practice they bad in hand for killing the Queen, and 
besought him to make choioe of some tall soldier^ an Iriflbmau, 
but not of the Irish regiment, to take Uke eiecution thereof; pei^ 
fluuding him Ihat it waa a mo«t godly act, and that the party 
should not oiily merit his «ilvatioa thereby, but should also have 
2000 crowni4, find a pension of 30 orowni a month during his life, 
aa a reward. 

"On 5 Way, Wm. Holt, another Jesuit^ came to him, and made 
the same offer; promised to do his beet to help them to a man 
fit for their purpose. 6 May, Sir Wm, Stanley and Hugh Owen 
Bent for him, and asked if Archer and Holt had delivei^ any 
mesBa.E^e from them; said they had, and that he had promised to 
lielp them; they besought him to use aU expedition. Id order to 
avoid the peril that might ennue if their devilish practices should 
take eflTert^ made choice of Hugh Cahill, and persuaded bim to 
take the same upon iiim> bnt never to put it in executioiLi 7 May, 
Cahtll came to htB chamber in Bruasele; made Cahill swear to keep 
hie counsel, told him of the practices before mentioned^ and pet^ 
vuaded him to take the thing in hand, bnt made him also swear 
that he would never put it in execution; thereupon persuaded 
him to accompany him to the Jesnit^^ and to yield to anything 
they should aa3\ 

" WUi^n they came there, told Archer and Holt he had peraaaded 
Cahill to tak« the execution thereof, and they, finding him reeolute 
and aiiBwerable to their desires, made him the promises before 
mentioned ; and to hirther persuade him^ they delivered the story 
of Judith and Hotofernes, and said he might execute bia purpose 

1 CiUndar of Ikmetiie SitUe Fttf^t, 1591—64, pp* 436, 437, 



I 
I 



I 



tVIDBKCK AQirKST THE JEStlTS 



171 



hj first buiriiig a horse for £10, and when djidiiii!^ Her MAJeaty 
ID projrress, or abroad taking the air^ and sofnewhat diAtaiiL from 
her train, or paeaing itito a cap of a park or closo, sot Bpurfi U) 
hia borse, ana etnko her ifUH a sword on the head, or thrunt it 
into her body. If that cmpoftunity should mina, he might devise 
A aupptication, and in eihibiting it to her» oa she waa coming out 
of her ganten or door, thmst a dajj^ger or fitronji: knife into her 
body. They willed him to come to them until they had found 
the zneane for hie ^oing over, and he wa« with theni.S to 10 Mav. 
"Was sent for by them 12 May, to consult which way to provide 
for sending Cabtll «Afely over. Fearing leat by tlieir cunning Ihey 
mij^ht actually persuade Cahill to do the deed proposed, told thenij 
16 May, that if they would procure him a paajport from Count 
Mansfeidt for aix montha, to fetch his wife and cnildren into the 
Low Countries, he doubted not, by meant of the Earl of Ormond, 
to procure one for Cahill, This they approved^ whilie they were 
procuring that passport, and Cahiil^s for France, sued for and 
received 200 crowns due of his pay ; on 6 June, the paasparta being 
ready, Archer gave to Cahill 100 crowns, received froii: Owen. 
Went 7 June to the Jesuits to take leave, when they wiUed him 
and CahiU to use all haste, as there were an Bnj^liabman and a 
Bcotchman appointed for a similar purpose,,** arrived [in Eng- 
land] 24 August, and in September acquainted his Lordship of the 
before mentioned practices. After hia departure, Cahill came to 
Calais, waiting for a paseport; Archer and Walpole, a Jesuit, came 
there, on their way to J^pain, and finding hiro there, they per- 
suaded him to conae over eecretly, with Sir John SkidHmore ason, 
which he accordingly did; Informed the Lord Treasurer of hia 
arrival at Weetminffter^ and was ordered to bring Cahill to his 
bouse in the Strand the next day: did so, but his Lordship being 
ill. and about to take horse for Theobalds, could not examine him, 
and thought of committing him to the Marehalaea; bejiougbt him 
not to do sOr and otfered to produce him when required, so Cahill 
waa ilelivered to him. Three or four days after, Juatice Young 
lined Cahill/' ' 






A tn&n named John Annias testified ihat Patrick CoUen 
waa also employed to murder the Queen, and CoUen himself 
acknowledged his guilt. Aciocgsi other things, Annins said 
that: "Patrick CoIIen told him he wag sent from Father 
Holt and Jacques to kill the Queen, and caused him to swear 
not to rereal it." ' Apparently the conspirators on the Con- 
tinent had become impatient at the delay of Cahill and 
Daniell, and feared they would not keep their promise to 
kill the Queen; hence their employment of CoUen. Thut 

t C^itndMr of D<rm^*tie Stait ^sptn, IfiDl— »4, pp. US. US. 
* nid., p. UL 



172 



m jwsTjnt at oiut nrrAcr 



indiTidtial himself Ustified thai in Uie previoos October, while 
hi Bntasek, *^ Jacques aaked bins lo do the King [of Spain] * 
good BorTice, and would teU him what it was Dezt morning , ^ ^M 
Kelt daj went to Jacques, who told him that AnL Peres, ^ 
a Spaniard, who had beeo Secrotarj to the King of Spain, 
had become the Ejng*s enemy ^ had been in France aod was 
come into England, and asked tlie examlnaie to kill him 
with a pistol. Undertook the matter, and sworB to perfoim 
it, whereupon Jacques gaTe him ^0 in gold for his rojage^ 
departed immediately from Bmssels for St. Omer ; found an 
old Irifih priest called Sir Thomas — , to whom he conff^ed 
what he had undertaken; the priest dissuaded bim, telling 
hjis it was unlawful to commit murder; the day after his M 
undertaking the enterprise » was brought bj Jacques to Father 1 
Holt, who said he might lawfully enterprise anything for 
his King's serrice, adrised him to prepare himself to GotI, 
and thereupon abaolred him. Did not hear Jacqa&s declare 
to Father HdU what he had undertaken, but perceiv^ed 
afterwards he had done so, as he told examinant in hta 
confession that he wished Jacques had not acquainted him 
with the matter, because he. Holt, was a cburchman,^^ ' 
Ten days after making the above statement, CoUen said that 
at this interview with Holt that Jesuit declared that — ** he 
saw no reason why he might not lawfully do what Jacques 
wished." * M 

It will be obserred that four Jeauit priests were named 
by these witnesses, as having approved of their plots to murder 
the Queen, As I have already remarked, however shocking 
to the reader^s feelings the thought may be of professed 
diijciples of Christianity approving of, and even encouraging 
such awful crimes, there is nothing at nil improbable in the 
testimony of these witnesses. When Popes were found 
encouraging assassination, we need not wonder at Jesuit 
priests following Buch examples. The Jesuit Order baa a 

1 CalenJar of IhmMtic Siaie F^pm, 15^\—U, p, 4S7. 

» Hid., p. 431. 



BTIDEIICS AOURST THE JESUITS .173 

bttd name for ihis sort of work, and not without reason. 
A few months later, Father Henry Walpole was captured 
when landing on the Yorkshire coast. While in prison he 
expressed his abhorrence of any attempts to murder the Queen, 
but he admitted that he had been asked, four years prerionsly, 
by Jacques, "whether it would be well to seek the death 
of Her Majesty, but dissuaded it ; ^* on which the Editor of the 
Calendar of Domestic State Papers jerj properly asks:—" Why 
did he not rereal this as a warning?"* Walpole further 
admitted that while abroad he had heard of other plots to 
murder Elisabeth ; that Father Uolt had told him that " Jacques 
was sent orer to bum the Queen*s ships ; ** ' and he also 
admitted that he (Walpole) had translated " Philopater^s " [i.tf. 
Father Parsons] book, in which he bad " spoken unreverently 
of Her Majesty and some of her Ministers deceased, as also 
the Treasurer." ' Of this latter nobleman Walpole had written : 
— **My L. Treasurer etc. may justly feare the greate and 
high galowes prepared by himself for Mardocheus, and the 
children of Israel, for that God is as juste now, as he was then 
and as potent." * Walpole praised also the work of the King 
of Spain, and, referring to the defeat of the Spanish Armada, 
with an implied threat, he declared that " the Inglishe oughte 
not to bragg, seeing there are so many reasons, and ex- 
amples of enterprises that take successe the second or thirde 
tyme, which did not at the firste." * Father Henry Walpole 
was manifestly a disloyal man, whatever may be thought 
about his alleged part in CoIIen's attempt to murder Eliza- 
beth. He was executed, but has been raised to the rank of 
a "Venerable" Saint by Pope Leo XIII. 

Hugh Owen heard of the charges brought against him, 
and indignantly repudiated them. He wrote a long letter 

I CaUndar of Domttiic SttUe Pmpert, 1591—94, p. 517. 

* Ikid^ p. 584. s Ibid., p. 585. 

« Am Jdweriuemeni WrUkn h « SecreUrie of my L. Treiuwrtr of EHgUmd. 
Anao Dnmini 1698» p. 17. 

• iW., p. 80. 



174 



JtSCTTS Ei GEKIT Sim» 



to Phelippea od the nibject, in whidi he ** arnmnT that all 
th« accusatioiu were false, tliougli fas admits Ihai be was 
peno&aJlj aequaiAted frith C&bill and Daiu«Il. Owen hirther 
declared tfaat lie had oerer iak^u pari in anr soch plot, jet 
Father Henrj Walpolet S-J^ affirmed that he remembered 
that "Ur. Creake^fl maa, when on his deatfa-bed, told him 
[Walpole] that Owes offered him moacj to do riolence to 
Her Majesty *5 person.** * Onrea's declarations of mnocence 
cannot be trusted. " No doubt,** remarks Mr, Martin Hamey 
"the confeeaione of the criminals were in most cases in- 
terested or exaggerated, bat Hugh Owen*s denials fail to 
cany conriction sufficient to demolish their stories ^.together. 
An age thai saw Henry HI., Gui^e, Orange, and Henry IV. 
Mn«nated was not squeamish about killing Princes, if 
they were considered in the way ; and the few rioleDt 
eitremiBts in Flanders, and more especially Jacques, belong* 
ed to the risionary type &om which regicidea are uatwUj 
drawn." " f 

The conspiracy to poison the Queen for which Dr. Lopei; 
was executed the day before Patrick CoUen, does not 
appear to hare been in any way connected with the Jesoits. 
But fioon after the death of Lopes another conspiracy to 
murder Elizabeth was discovered, far whicbf early in 1&95, 
Edmund Yorke and Richard Williams were executed. In 
this latter conspiracy the Jesuits were once more named 
as active parties in the villainy. 

Richard Williams declared that he **was sent by Father 
Holt and Sir W. Stanley to kill the Qneen, with the promise ■ 
of great reward, and received the Sacrament with Yorke 
thereon/** Edmund Yorke alBrmed that "Holt promised 
him, or any confederate, 100,000 or 200,000 crowns, if he 
would raise a rebellion or do some notable act ; * and that 



( CaUttd^ »/ Bometiu Stutt Fsp^t, UVl-^M, p. S36. 

* Humfl'i T^tasom tmti Ph(, p. ItO. 

* /W., p. 543, 



ETn)lNCE A311KST THE JESUITS 



175 



he *' was persuaded by Father Holt to come over on the 
Queen's pardon, and to live in the Court, &a one fled fiway, 
having the money due to him to his uncle sent for \m 
tnainteQ^nce, and an assurance on oath of 40^000 crowns, 
with present payment guaranteed by the Secretary, Stephen 
de Ibarrai if he performed the required serrice of killing 
the Qu^n ^ . . ; they swore on the Sacrament to do it, aud were 
absolved by Father Holt*" * Torke further testified that 
**they solemnly swore him to perform the service, and 
Holt confessed him and gave him the Sacrament. Williums 
awore to kill the Queen, Yorke to aid him^ and to do it if 
he failed, by poisoned arrow, pistol, or rapier/^ ^ 

At hb trial in 1606, Father Qarnett, said: "The third 
thing I determined to speak of was the Jesuits in general; 
of whom aome have been by Kr. Attorney accused of un- 
dertaking several treasonable attempts, as the matters of 
Patrick Collen, Yorke, Williams, and Squire, of all which 
I eftn say no more but this, that I have had the hands and 
protestations of those Fathers that are accused, as Father 
Holt and Father Walpole, who ou their salvations a&m 
that they never treated with the parties concerning any 
»Qch matter." * To this it may suffice to reply by asking, 
if Gameit had these written statements in his possession, 
why did he not publish th^m to the world years before his 
own trial in 1606? Indeed, they have never yet, so far as 
I am aware, beBii published. Besides, as we have already 
aeen^ Qarnett was such a master in deception, even on oath, 
that it ia impossible to believe a word he said, in defence 
of himself or his brethren, unless supported by outside 
evidence. 

In 1602, Thomas Fitzherbert, a Jesuit, published two 
pamphlets, now exceedingly scarce, in which he dealt with 
the cases of Collen, Williams, and Yorke. His apology for 

1 C^ndMT 0/ Domi$tu SUU Papfrt. 1S91— 1il4. p. 5ifl. 
i The Ctrntivti^ of CstAtfiua V»4jv Jamet L, p. 249, 



176 



TEll JEaUJTS m €ft£AT BBITAIK 



ttiese men ia ^ from conrincing. As to Williania and 
Yorke, Fitzherbert nskg, was it reasonable to suppose that 
two such young men, who were new converU to the Cburch 
of RomBf would e rer be entrusted wi th snch a secret 
business? To which it may suffice to reply that new converts, 
full of 2eal for tbeir new faith, and hatred of that which 
they had left, were just the kind of men most likely to 
undertake such a business as that which was required of 
them. As to their youth, it is well known that young 
men are more ready to undertake such work, and more 
blind to its dangers, than older men, who hut rarely hire 
themselves out for assassiuations. Besides, the Jesuits aceused 
of plotting these murders were residing on the Continent, 
where they were safe from arrest, if discovered. And even 
if the men they employed should prove untrustworthy, by 
betraying their secrets to the EugUsh Qoveniment, the Jesuits 
knew very well how, by equivocations and mental reserr- 
ations to deny the plain facts of the case, and confirm theii- 
deniaJfl by oaths. The fact is they selected just the most 
likely men for their work. Fitzherbert asserts tliat *^ some '' 
of those conspirators named in the case as members of an 
asaiassination Council which met at Brussels, resided at 
St Omers, or Antwerp, and were in their ordinary places 
of residence at the very time they were asserted to be in 
Council together at Brussels. But he conveniently omita 
to mention any names, and produces no evidence in support 
of hia assertion. As to Patrick Collen^ Fitzherbert declares 
that *^he never confessed eitlier publicly or privately that 
he was any way employed against Her Majesty's person/* ' 
This we certainly know to be untrue, for Collen'a confessions, 
quoted above, still exist in the Record Office in London. 
Fitzherbert adda that, at his execution, CoUen ^* called God 
to witness that he was never employed against Her Majesty, 

^ Jm Apology of T^homis] F.iitxherbsrQ in De/nte nf Himself imd Oikgr 
abipter it., f. "XT, Impfiutcd with Lircacr, 1602. 



I 



I 



I 



I 



I 

I 



EVIDEKCR AGAINST THE J£GUIT8 



177 



nOT c&me into England with any such intention;*^ but I 

cau find no evidence that he ever said anything of the kind. 

On KoTember 13, 1598, a maa named Edward Squire 
was executed for an attempt to poison Queen Elisabeth, In 
this case the evidence against the prisoner of a man nami^d 
John Stanley was clearly fabe. He declared that he 
(Stanley) on a certain date bad an interview with the King 
of Spain, who gave him fuU directions how to proceed in 
an attempt to poison the Queen, but Mr. Martin Hume has 
clearly proved that at that time the King '*waa lying at 
the Escoral hopelessly ill and quite una.ble to see any one 
on business/* Besides, in his evidence, Stanley declared that he 
had brought with him *'two letten^ from Father Thomaa 
Fitjtherbett, SJ., and Father Richard Walpole, SJ./' but, 
as the Gavernment officer, Waad, wrote to the Earl of 
Eeaex directly after Stanley'^s examination: — ** Privately he 
confessed to me that he devised them himself, and caused 
a Spaniard to write them boih/^ ' It la evident that we 
cannot rely on the evidence of such a scoundrel. 

Squire himself, however^ gave evidence, lie satd: 

'^Wben Walpole [Father Kichord* SJ.] persuaded me to be 
employed against Her MojeDiy's pereonp he aakod whether I 
eould compound poieona; I &&m no, but that I hiid BkiU io per- 
fumed, and b&d read in TH.rtaliii of a. h^W, the smoke whereof 
wOuM make a man in a triince, Hiid dome dii^. Walpole Sfkid that 
would be difficult, but to apply poison to a fertain place was the 
niOflt convenient w&y; I uaid I had do ekill tlierein, to which 
Walpole replied, ' you ahall have directiona. . . / Walpole said he 
would write to BAg^haw at Wiebeach Gti«tl^^ ns he knew all the 
cx>i4ir!}eQ of the Jeauite^ I hnd directions from Wftlpol^f under his 
own hand, but I threw them into the water, and also the letter 
to Bag^haw. Certain poiaon drugs, whereuf opium vfa* one, were 
to be beaten toxeiher, steeped in white meix-ury water, put into 
an earthen pot, and eiet a month in Lhe Hun ; tben to be put in a 
double bla<lder» und the bladder pricked full of holea in the upper 
part, and earned in the palm of my haud^ upon a thick ^iove, for 
aafbeuard of my haiid; and then I was to turn the hole» down- 
ward, and to press it hard upon the pommel of Hat ilighnew't 
saddle; it ifould lie and tarry Long where it waa laid, and not be 
checked by the air/** 

> C^d Faj>0rt. Illilori^t MSS. C'ommtuiDDj f<iL Tui., p. 39A. 
* C^UnJmr «/ lhiii**^tve SUU I'^ftm, IIVS-UOI, p. 107. 

12 



178 



TBI JBSriTS IB GR£iT BRITUM 



" He [Wmlpole] saJd it were a moritorioua act to Itab or kill th# 
E&rl of Ee«ex, *but this agftlnst the Queen is all in all, for there 
shall Dced but little else ttuui to do th&t w^l, which 1 char^ 
joa to perform before all things/ . * . At tay next Gonfesaioo, he 
charged tne that 1 taea-ni not to perform my promiae ; X protested 
to him ihat I verily meant to do \U Tht^n he laid before me the 
dauber I was in tf I did not endeavour to the utmoat to perform 
it, fuid thiit I mufit not now fe&r de^tb. thoagh it mif^nt seem 
very iinmment, for what arAileth it a man to win the whole 
world and loso hia own soulT and if I did but onoe doubt of tb« 
lawfulne^ or the merit, it was suilicieiit to cast me down head* 
)onf7 to hell ; and th^n, taking me by the arm* be lifted me np, 
and took me about the uect with his leJt arm» and mtuie a crooe upon 
my bead, SAying, 'God bless thee, and give thee strength^ my son. 
and be of good courage; I will pawn my boqI for thine, and thou 
sholt ever have my prayers^ both dead and alire^ and fall p&tdon 
of all thy sins,' He also used a speech ovat my head, which I 
oould not understand, save the fiist word, D<nmnu»J^ ' 

William Monday also testided, and said: — "Between tost 
Whitsuntide and Midauinmef , as I was in the halt of Thomas 
Fitxherbert at Madrid, he came in from Father Cresswell 
[a Jesuit] in a great rage, and said Rolls and Squire were 
viUoinom rascabj to deceive the Catholic Kin^, and undo us 
all, as tht?y had betrayed a number of godly priests in 
England, and exposed all their secrets; and that Sqnire 
undertook to poison the Qaeen^s saddle and Kolls to kill the 
Queen. *^ ' Richard Kolls, mentioned by Monday, was also 
examined. He said; ^''l and Squire came from Seville towards 
England last June twelvemonth, and the April or May before, 
we received the Sacrament at Walpole^s hands at Seville. 
After I was out of prison, Walpole persuaded me to serve 
the Eing^ but I refused.*** 

Thomas Fitzherbert, the Jesuit, wrote a defence of his own 
conduct in the case of Squire, on lines wliich, if accepted, 
would haye upset every verdict in similar cases at that 
period. The witness Monday, as we have just seen, testiSed 
that while lie was at Madrid, Fitzherbert came into the hall, 
and said that Rolls and Squire were ^^ rillainous rascals/* 
because they had not assassinated the Queen, as they had 

» Caimdar o/ Domf^tk SUU Bitftrt, l&flS— IftOl, fp. IC0, IW. 
* Ihid.. p. 115. > /4iV,. p. 119, 



I 



I 



1TTDS9CB AOilHST TUK JXflVlTS 



179 



promised. In dealing with this Btatement Fitzherbert atiri- 
butea it to Stanley, ftttd then adds : — ** I answer that I protest 
before Qod, and upon my aalvatioiif that I neTer said any 
such thinjf to Stanley in my life." ■ A very convenient 
way of getting out of a difficulty, Fitzberbert further asserted 
that there was no evidence againgt Squire but hk own con- 
feasionB and the teatiraony of Stanley, the fact being that 
two other witnesses gaxe evidence — viz,, Monday and Rolls. 
The Jesuit admits that at hia trial Squire acknowledged the 
truth of the statements which he had made, and which were 
read in open Courts but that on the scaffold he denied them. 
He quotee, however, a pajspblet issued directly after the 
execution by Christopher Barker, the Queen^s printer, in 
which it waa a^^aerted that Sqaire in no point retracted or 
disavowed Iiis confession, either at his trial or at his death. 
FitKherbert denies this, and declares that on the scaffold 
Squire withdrew his confession, and declared that it wa3 
false. As man against man I may be pardoned for believing 
the Protestant before the Jesuit. Camden says: — *'At the 
barp and at the gallows he [Squire] protested, that though 
he were put on by Walpole and others to commit the fact, 
yet he could never be persuaded in his heart to do it.^** 

In commenting on the case of Squire, Mr. Martin Hume 
suggests that Fatber Richard Walpole *s action was moved by 
a revengeful desire to get a secular Roman Catholic priest, 
named Dr. Bagshaw, into trouble with the Government, on 
the ground that be [Bagshaw] waa in favour of the attempt 
to poiaon the Queen. This Bagshaw was a stem enemy of 
the Jesuits, as may be seen by a perusal of his Tmi Bdcftton 
af the Fadion B^gun at Wtsbich^ Mr< Hume suggests that 
-* while Squire appears to have been sent on a fc>or& errand 
hj Walpole so far as the actual commission of the crime 
WW concerned, the reference and letter to Th. Bagshaw, 
which would hardly have been invented by Squire on the 

> ^ Apclogf cf T. T. in 2V/n» of Ei^tif and Otkfr CmiA^yJU, Qk. n. 
* OuadtB*! SUMthetk. fourth Bditwa, p. frA& 



180 



TBI JESUITS IK OIBAT BRttAiN 



fack, point to & de&ije on the port of the Jesuits to strike _ 
a fatal blow at the leader of their oppoDeata. Dr. Bagahaw, I 
as we have seen, was then, and for years aflerwards, the 
champion of the Mojal* clergy, and was precisely the least 
likely man to coiini?e at the murder of the Queen by a 
Spanish agent.** * 

Mr. Hunie^s theory is strengthened by a letter written 
from Rome on February 20, 1099, by a priest named 
Array, a friend to the Jesuits* He writes: — **At this very 
instant, 1 have seen a letter of the 3rd of Jaiiuary, from 
Do way I of the principal there, who do eay that three days 
before there passed one Browne that way, and was oewly 
come out of England and had a messenger [? message] 
from the said Dr. [Bag^haw] to his friend at Lille, willing 
him to write a letter of defiance to Father Parsons, and 
charge him with having suborned Father Walpole to send 
in one Sqnire to draw tbe said Dr. and his friends into 
suspicion of Hlltng the Queen, and this he will prove to 
the whole world." ' 

It is o nly fair to add that Father Richard W alpole 
denied in the strongest terms the truth of the charges 
brought against him at tbe trial of Squire. -*I call Ood 
to witness upon my soul,** he said, ^'oa it is written in the 
Book of Kings —ju&jurandum cojtcipio — may God be witness, 
and may His Christ be witness, that the whole of this 
accusation is false, and I protest before God^ and the whole 
Court of Hearen, and on the word of a priest, that nothing 
of the kind objected against me, even entered my thoughts.^* ' I 
If this solemn sssertion were made by anybody but a Jesuit 
it would be conclusiye. But Father Gamett*s justification ^ 
of equirocation, even at the hour of death, and by oath, I 
forbids that confidence in Walpole which otherwise would 
he gladly extended to him« 

^ Hamt't Tre«s9% and I'iol, p. 3?4« 

* TJU Arekpri^H CamiroverMf, loL i., p, US. 

* SgeorJt £/ tAe In^iuk frtt^itLU, S.J,, ycd. iu p. t^^~ 



I 
I 



ITmiNCB AOAtKST TEE JESUITS 



181 



Eight years later, Sir Charles ComwalliB, English Ambas- 
sador to Spain, wrote, on March 28, 1606, to the Earl of 
Sftliflbury, of this same prieat: — **WalpoIe the Jesuit (the 
intemperature of who^^e heart is not to be contained within 
his lipa) yesterday in a discourse with a man of mine (whom 
sometimes I use to unlock hiin, and to draw some pari of 
kis intelligence and intentions from him) aaid plainly unto 
liim, tbat ^ if your Lordship [Salisbury] were taken out of 
ihe icatf, the authority and guiding of the Estate should 
with more equal distributioji descend unto other Lords of 
ihe Council} more temperate, and better disposed in religion J 
He proceeded with a great deprivation of your late answer 
to the Admonitory Letter* Said, *if there teere not means 
found otherwise to shorten your course^ you would perhaps 
liTe to see the end of others, who (your Lordship being 
taken away) might do some good to the Churcb.'" Com- 
wallis, after relating this interview with Walpole, shows 
how seriously he thought of it, by adding: — "My good 
Lord, for the lo?e of your Prince, country, and other friends 
(whose fortunes and contentment depend upon your life and 
well-being) give rae leave to beseech you to be very careful 
Bnd wary of yourself. By many proofs it is known unto 
your Lordship, what strange attempts malice, fortified with 
a superstitious and blind conceit of pardon and merit^ hath 
in this depraved age brought forth ... I shall have no 
quiet with myself till your Lordship shall direct me con* 
eeming Walpoh, If it pi ease you to have A k* desperate 
a nd u n ch ristia n speeches con c^n ing you r life called in 
question, I assure myself, that so dear and much respected 
yoa are now unto this State, as there will be done what 
may be, for his chastisement and further examination.^^ - 

From the defeat of the Spanish Armada until the death 
of Queen Elizabeth the Jesuits were incessantly at wurk 
promoting sedition and treasonable practices. Of coarse 



> Wiowofld'i Mcmeriak of JJ»irt 9/ Siaie, ¥ol. it, pp. S03, BOS, 



182 



TBI JKstrrrs m a&UT britiin 



Spam longed to be reTeogdd for her defeat, and to recorer 
her lost glories In the eyes of the world; but her boasted 
Armada was destroj&d, her ^xcheqner ne^y emptj, and 
Philip soon realised that he must patientlj wait for a more 
faTourable opportunity* But, meanwhile., he was not idle. 
It was true he could not attack England as he desired, but 
he could at least encourage those Roman CathoUca who 
sought to injure her through Scotland, and strengthen the 
hands of the Jesuits and their friends in their perpetual 
intrigaea in the Spanish interests. 

On the firat of January, 1593, the city of Edinburgh was 
greatly excited by the new3 that a new Fopiah Plot had 
been discorered of starthng importance, and that George 
Kerr, a Roman Catholic and brother of Lord Kewbottle^ 
had been taken to prison as, apparently, the chief conspi- 
rator. He had been arrested aa he waa about to set sail 
for Spain, and on his person was discoTered a number of 
letters fro m Jesui ts and others, with certain my sterioua 
Blank Papers, signed by the Roman Catholic Earls of Huntly, 
Enrol, and A.ngua, and Sir Patrick Gordon. From a docu* 
ment discoTered by Mr. Martin Hume in the Spanish Archires, 
we learn on undoubted authority ^ what was the object of 
Kerr^s miesion^ and the part the Jesuits took in it. It 
states thai: ^^God having by means of the priesU, Jesuits, 
SeminariBts, and others, daring the past years^ brought m 
great number of the nobles and people of Scotland into the 
Catholic Cburchi and as the King of Scotland wa9 so un- 
certain in hiB faith, and the Queen of England in constant 
opposition, some of the principal Catholic Lords decided to 
send a roan of their own to his Catholic Majesty to beg 
for aid in their need* aa they thought with some assistance 
they could get the King into their hands; and then, in bis 
name and authority, convert the Kiogdom, and perhaps 
keep the Queen of England so busy that she could not 
disturb Christendom, as is her wont. They therefore deter- 
mined to send a gentleman of rank named George Carre 



I 



I 
I 



I 
I 



THE SPAMTBH BLANKS 



183 



^i.e. George Kerr], and the three principal Eitrls, the Earls 
of Huntly, AnguSt and Errol, gave him letters of credence, 
aod other letters in blank, signed with their names and 
sealed with their seats, with orders on his arrival in Spain 
to write in the letters the message which they had given 
kim verbally; and many other Catholic gentlemen in the 
country did the aara^.'* ^ 

The letters discoveied in the possession of Kerr are printed 
in the fifth volunie of Calderwood^s Hiatori/ of th$ Kirk of 
Scotlund, One from the Jeauit James Gordon, writing over 
the alias ^^J. Christesone;^^ and another from Father Robert 
Abercromhie, S,J., both addreased to Father Creighton, SJ., 
contain indirect allusions to help eiKpected from Spain* The 
real facts of the conspiracy came out during the examination 
of George Eerr^ and Graham of Fintry, who had been arrested 
as an accomplice while in prison. They both agreed in testi- 
fying that; 

"In March, 11591 (new style, 1592) Kr* William Greigbton [Jesuit] 
(who haA reivi&iaed these two yearB past in Spain) &ent to Mr. 
Jamm Gordon, JoBiiit Father, brother to George now Earl of Huatly^ 
& gen Lie man e&Ued Mr. William Gordon, eon to the Laird of 
Aberj^eldie, with letters to let the Giitholics here tin Scotland] 
onderetand what travail Mr* WilLiam Creighton had taken with 
the King of 8pain eince hia cominj; there; and that the said King 
liad opened to him that ho had bean deceived by EDg;]ii9buieOr 
and would from that time forth embrace the advice and way 
which the n&id Mr, William shoutfi shew hhn both for invading 
of ^f^land, and alteration of religion v^'iLhin this realm. And for 
that purpose the eaid Mr, William craved by this gentleman to 
be sent to him ao many blanks and procuratioua aa could be Imd 
of noblemea here [in Scotlandj, for the assurance of hi* traffic^" 

*'Upou the «ight and receipt of «uch BlanLca, t^ot with &ome 
other discreidt gentlemao, havini; the uoblemen's commiseioDp to 
be tilled up with Huch oonditiona as should be capitulated and 
a^freed upon bctweeo tho King of Spain and Mr» William Creigh^ 
ton, which should hnve serred ae pledges and sureties for the 
■ubacribera' part^ at the laudinf^ here [in Scotland] of the Spanish 
ajmj, it waa concluded thnt there should bave been sent out of 
8paiu about the latter end of the Apriiig^ in thin present year^ 1592 

116f#»]. an army of 30,000 men, to have landed here at Kirkcud- 
rrij^Ut, or at the mouth of the Clyde/' 
'*Aud, firiit of all, money sbould have been sent to (he Catho- 



184 



TBI JEmJiTS IK 6BUT BRrTinr 



lica h«re» for ndsing of forccw to stipply |he sfttd Armj, ^^hereof 
four or tiv« thousand should have remained within this country, 
who, with the rortifioation and AseietAnce of the nob)emeD, Catholice, 
their frienda^ and aucb other forces as the Spanbh money would 
T&iM, should have, immediately after their landing, begun to alter 
the reliKion presently professed within the realm, or at least, pro* 
cured liberty of conacience^ and Fj^piatry to have been erected here; 
and the reet of Ihe Army should have paeaed toward England, 
the neare-Bt way &om their landings to ttie border/' ■ 



Graham of Fintrj specially testified that ilie first know- 
ledge he hnd of the conspiracy was from Father Abercrombie, 
S.J., and that "the said Blaiiks and letters which were 
procured for that errand were all delivered by Mr. James 
Gordon [Jesuit] and Mr. Robert Abercrombie [Jesuit] to Mr 
Robert Kerr, to be carried by him to Mr. William Creighton, 
Jesuit, and to be filled up at the discretion and direction of 
the said Mr. Willisra, and of Mr. Jaraes Tyrie [Jesuit], who 
were best acquainted with the affairs there/' ' It will tboa 
be seen that the Jesuits were at the bottom of the whole 
of this conspiracy to suppress Protestant iBm in Scotland by 
the force of Spanish arme. Robert Kerr escaped from prison, 
"chiefly owing," says BeUesheim, **to the intervention of 
the Queen of Jamca VL," who was secretly a Roman 
Catholic; but Graham of Fintry waa executed. On the di.s- 
covery of the Spanish Blanks the Roman Catholic Earls fled 
northwards from the Court for safety. 

The next move of the conspirators was to send Father 
John Cecil, a secular priest, on a mission to Spain seeking 
for help* With the experience of the discovery of the 
Spanish Blanks before their eyes, they thought it undesirable 
to commit their wishes to paper* C^cil therefore simply 
conveyed a verbal manage* But as a document which I 
have already cited liates: — "As they dared not send their 
signatures so soon after the other aflairi they sent the priest 
with a token to Father Robert Parsons of the Society of 



I 



1 CiJdenvouii'j HiMi&ry of iAf Xitt uf iiev(/0)td, y^U t., ^\}. 2S4— :i4. 



ISOTHEE SCOTTISH PXOT 



185 



JesMSf to whom he was aire ad y well known/' ^ Parsons 
wu rejoiced to see Cecil &t Valladolid, and on Slst of 
August, 15d3, he sent him od to the Spanish Secretary, 
Juan de Idiaquez, with an introductory letter : — "He [Cecil] 
is a good man," wrote Parsons, '*who has suffered for the 
cause, and f^ll credit may he giren to him/' * Aa to the 
Scottish Roman Catholic Lords who had sent Cecil, Parsona 
wrote :— " In no place in the world can the Queen of England 
be so much troubled aa in Scotland, if these gentlemen can 
TBme the force they say. Nothinf^ has grieTed her as much 
for years as these Scottish troubles. Thirdly, whenever 
France has been at war with England the French have 
always sent money and men to Scotland, which caused a 
diversion. They used to say that every thousand Frenchmen 
in Scotland were of more avail against England than 3000 
in France* So if his Majesty sends the 4000 men they 
Esk^ it will he better than 10,000 elsewhere against the 
Queen/* * It was decided by Philip to send back Cecil to 
Scotland, together with a Spanish officer named Porrea, the 
business of the latter being to inspect the harbour accom- 
modation in Scotland, and to ascertain what were really 
the military resources of the Roman Catholic nobles. Unfor- 
tunately for the rebels the vessel in which these two 
gentlemen sailed was driven by tempests into Plymouth 
H arbou r . Cecil was really in the pay of th e English 
Oovemroent as a spy, and was therefore, after, no doubt* 
revealing the whole conspiracy, allowed to proceed to 
Scotland accompanied by Porres. 

It is evident that James was aecretly and treacheroi^ly 
furthering the interests of the Roman Catholic Lords, while 
publicly appearing as their enemy. Father Forbes Leith, 
S.J., gtates that:— "With the advice of his councillors of 
State, Jamea sent Father Gordon and Father Creighton 
secretly to Home, for the purpose of laying the whole 

1 C^itm^ 9f Sp^niih Stmi§ f0j,rrt» rol. ir., p. 003. 
« aid., p. WB. » /W.. p. «07, 



186 



THI naVITa tll QBSJLT BEITAOt 



matter before the Popef and urangiog witli him the tneafis 
of resioEiQg the Catholic religion in Scotland. Gordon ftc* 
coiupUsbed this Accordiag to his instruciiona, and rctarncd 
to Scotland in companj of Father William Creighton and 
the Pope*3 Legate, George Sampuettt. The last named 
waa the bearer of a large sum of money which he was to 
give to the King of Scotlandf promising bim a monthly 
allowance of 10,000 ducats, oti conditioD of his protecting 
the Catholics and allowing them to remain onmolested in 
the exercise of their faith. On the 16tb of July* 1^94, 
the party landed at Aberdeen/* ^ 

But at this time the Presbyterian party were strong and 
not to be trifled with. James had consequently to bow to 
the storm blowing &om that quarter ; and therefore be 
gave a commission to the Earl of Argyll to pursue the 
Popish Lorda— who were up in arms— with fire and sword. 
Two of them, the EarU of Huntly and £rrol, gays Father 
Forbes Lelth, ''quickly collected Bfteen hundred horsemen 
from among their friends and retainers, with a few foot- 
soldiers, and inroked the dirine assistance by Confeseion 
and Communion. Father Gordon, with two or three other 
Jesuit Fathers, heard the Confessions of the whole army, 
and gave them Communion, They asked to hare their 
weapons sprinkled with Holy Water, and marked a white 
cross upon their arms and coate.^* On October 4, 1594, 
the conteading forces met at Glenliret, the rictoty remain- 
ing with the Popish Lords. The victory, howeTer, was 
soon turned into a defeat, by the resolution of James him- 
self, who advanced against the Popiah rebels, and Huntly 
and Errol, a^ a result, found it wise to retire from Scot- 
land for a time. **With these exiled,"' writes Mr. Martin 
Hume, **the Catholic revolt was at an end in Scotland, and 
the King's position with the Protestant party firmer than 
ever it had heen/^ ' And thus ended this essentialiy Jesiut Plot 



I 

I 



THE SKCDEO) SFANlBfi AJtUADA 



187 



In the year 1597 the King of Spain sent another Great 
Armada to England, with orders to land at Falmouth. But 
once more, as in 1588| the winds of heaven were against 
the Armada, winch was driven back to Spain by storms, 
before even one blow had been struck^ or one shot fired 
from the Spanish ships. This Annada had been two years 
in preparation, watched with eager anxiety by the English 
Jesuits residing in Spain. That ringleader of traitors, Robert 
Parsons, was very active, and wrote a special memorandum 
for the King's guidance, headed : '* Principal points to 
facilitate the English enterprise." He suggested that "one 
very good way" to assist the enterprise, ** would be for a 
little tract to be written by some reputable Englishman, 
who m^jght set forth that for the general welfare it would 
be advantageous that all should agree to aiscept the Infanta 
of Spain»*' as Queen of England. **It would be well," 
added Parsons^ ** to support the Catholic nobles and gentlemen 
of Scotland, for the Queen is more alarmed at 1000 men 
in Scotland than 10,000 elsewhere. It will coat veTy little 
to support those Scotsmen, and they will take islands and 
forts, to the Queen's prejudice. The same thing may be 
said of the Irish savages, who should be encouraged by 
some trifling help, in the form of money and arms (as they 
hare plenty of men), and thus the Queen might be kept 
imeasy . . What would di*!;tuTb and trouble her most of all, 
however, is that the English exiles in Flanders should make 
constant raids, summer and winter, with those little vessels 
Uiey have in England/* "Another way of strengthening 
our friends/' Parsons added, "is that in any fleet Ins Majesty 
sends to England, Ireland, and Scotland, there should go 
some high English ecclesiastic (such as Dr. Stapleton, or 
some other in Flanders) with authority, both from the Pope 
and his Majesty, to settle matters/' "The excommunication 
of the Quean should be renewed by the Pope," und it ia 
important to note that Parsons expressed his belief that 
Father Uenry Garnett bad helped and would help the King 



188 



TEE nnVJTS IK GBEAT BKITAIIS 



of Spain with valuable iafarmation. "Father Henry Gar-j 
nett, ProTincial of the Jesuits, writes that tnistworthy nieii| 
iDaj be obtained in London, who will get their information 
at the fountain-head in the Council, and thej [the Jesuits] 
themBelvea will provide correapondenta in the principal ports, 
who will keep advising as to the warlike preparations.^^ ^ fl 

Father Joseph Creswell, another Jesuit, also wrote to the 
King of Spain a letter of advice on the same subject In 
it he commenced by boasting of the services rendered tafl 
the Spanish Armada of 1588, by his Jesuit Superior at 
Rome and by himself personally: — *'My Superiors/' be 
wrote, "having sent me from Rome to Flanders at thai 
instance of Cardinal Allen and Count de Olivares, to serve 
the Duke of Parma in the English undertaking in 1588, 
hia Highness ordered me to write out tbe Edict that was 
then printed in English." He recommended the King to 
use conciliation towards the English when this new Armada 
reached their ahorea, but a conciliation of a thoroughly 
Jesuitical character. His real aentiments come out in the 
following startling statement: "I find myself/^ he declared, 
'*by His Divine grace, so free from personal or national 
biaa in tbe matter that, if I heard that the entire destnic- ■ 
tion of England was for the greater glory of God aud 1 
the welfare of Christianity, I should be glad of it being 
done."' Who can doubt that in this Jesuit's opinion "th«l 
greater glory of God and the welfare of Chriatianitj'* wew 
identical with the glory of the Pope and the welfare of his 
Church ; and that he would rather see all England entirely ! 
destroyed than that the new Spanish Armada should fail in 
its objects? 

Soon after these opinions of Parsons and Creswell bad] 
been deliveredf a wetlinformcd spy, residing in England, J 
reported to his Government on February 24, 1597, that:— 
^'Within these two days a priest has arrived [in England] 

1 Caf^dsr Qf i^niMk ^t* Faprrt, vol iv„ pp« eS3— U. 
I Hid., pp, fiSB, 694. 



Tm 8BC0X9 STASna AMSU^k 



nil 



&om Father Far^cns to Father Wh^ll^j [an oIm of Fa&m 
Henry Qnjneti, S.J*]^ to import all his pr o ce edingB vith tftw 
King of Spain; that there are greai pgapi»tk— , md ftilfll 
arsons told all the scholan at TaUadolid mI Seville tbal 
Majesty n^as detenniaed this firing to tam »U htt fbfWB 
for the recovery of EagUod from baraj, and wvbcd A/em 
to assist him with their prayers^ sal to be rea^ to o be y 
as they would kitnself. Father* Charles Taokerd, tbe 
aad Dr* StiUingion. He also t<^ them tbe King*! 
that after the conqaest, the Spaiuanb ibodd aoi be 
mandera and rulers ia Kngland, as it was l e a o l Ted ^ak tbe 
Cardinal Albert of Austria should many the Tnfanta of SpaiB, 
and with her enjoy the Tlirooe of Fagleiid, vitboot aBanvg 
the ancient customs and prerogatirea tbefeof; and &at aU 
the priests in the three Colleges, of which theze are ahaoal 
thirty, are stayed by eotDmandiMBi, so aa to eom^ 
the Armada/' ' 

Ir tbe month of Jane, \5dS^ Charles Paget, a loyal 
Catholic wrote "* A Brief Note of the Praetieea tl^ drroa 
JestiiU have had for KtlLtog Princes and Cbaaging of Siaiaat" 
in which he expressed an earnest hope thai tiie Pops angbl 
he induced to issae aa order for tbe withdrawal of all 
Jesuits from England, until at least tbe death of tbe Qiteca« 
Ad this document is both an tntereattag and imiortsHt 
exposure of Jesuit tactics, from the pen of one wbo oader- 
stood their ways as weU as any body then lining, I thiak 
it well to quote here its opening paragrapha: — 



■* Father Parsons and tbe raK of the Jesuits finA seot Into 
bmd had orders Qot to deal in tn&Uera of 8lsaa» bat only io 
souls; tteveitbeleea P^rsooa 90 faroUed ia miteva of Slate IhsSi 
Caibohcfl, now dead, desired hia lo retire oot of Ihe cottotry. or 
they would diaoover bim« wb i iiM p OM be weot to Fmoce wiuml 
Ihe jprivitjr of bis Oeneral. 

"Tbere be did not cease lo deal In 8Ute taatter% aiid vrote tbe 
B*rl of I^tcester'ft Life, and ieot it io BogkiMl by a t^y Brolbv; 
and vNu one 0/ ihoie thai ad^aacni Fmrrg*9 omd Sdno^B isasJiaiM Is 



1 Ctita^dm «/ Jkmmik Mu$ ftftm, iSOi— ffT, f. UA. 



190 



TffK JSaUITS IK OKKlT BEITilH 



''He and Father Claude Matbena, a Jesuit, were the chief dealer* 

with th« Duke of Guise, to his ruin, to enter with 5000 men into 
EnglaDcl* \vh??re Father PAreons promised he flhould bare been 
feteconded with some EriKliah, for ihe sttdden surprisinic of the 
Queen's person, and of London. An liaiian J«9u%i in Pari* gar* 
parry his tibaitlHticn for kilthig the Qti«^^ rH»(i another tn Engltrnd 
aiiioifiifd SavagCy who had aome Bcruptcs ahout it. 

*'FA.tho.r Parsons ftasisted Cardiaal Allen to ma^e the hook that 
should have been diviilj;ed againat the Queen, at puch time ai the 
Spanish Army waa to invade fingUnd, and haa ever alnoer until 
lately, remained in Spain, to advise practiees for the ruin of Her 
Majesty and her eatate. He made the book of the pretenders to 
tbe Crown of Englnnd, cAused it to be printed, and by Father 
Holt'a and Owen's meane, sent into Eui^land , . , He has made another 
hook, not yet printed^ for the Reformation of England, to the 
prejudice of the nobility, ancient cuatoma, and laws of f^ngiand. 
Faifiets Holt and ATchn- were pr^^y to and praciutdvnlk DanitU/cir 
killing the Qu«en, (md Ow€n and Arthur were privif to PohfikeWM 
practien. 

'*A Jeauit persuaded the youth that was executed in France^ to 
kill the King of France^ who expelled all the Jesuite out of France; 
since which Boctius, a French Doctor of the Sorbonne, has written 
a most bitter book a^ainti tb^ French King, printed by two KngUah- 
men called Tbwing and Tipping, and the licence of printing was 
procured by Father lioU, who lent money for it. 

"Tbe JeauitB of Englaud, under colour of godly usee, collect 
money of Oathotict, and bestow it not on the English poor, accord- 
ing to the intt^ntion of tbe givers, but keep it for their private 
uae9j for tbe printing of eeditioi^s books, and aiding of such ats 
will second them in bringing the State of England to be only 
governed by them, as well for spiritual as temporal affairs. The 
General of the Je«uitfl haa given absolute authority to Father Par- 
sons, to aend into Engl find and to revoke such of his Society as 
he thinks good, and it is therefore likely that he will maintain 
them in such practices as he has set on foot, for making Kings 
and changing the State of England, accordUig to his fancy," ^ 

The next murder plot with which the Jesuits were, in 
popular opinion, associated, was that of the Gunpowder 
Treason of 1605, It is uaneceseary for me to write here 
the full story of that attempt at wholesale murder. It h^s 
already been written by the late Mr. David Jardine, first 
of all in one of the Tolumes of '* Criminal Trials," issued 
by the Library of fintertniniQ^ Knowledge, in 1835; and, 
subsequently^ in his invaluable Narraihe of the Gunpowder 
Pld^ published in 1857. It seems a great pity that both 



I 



1 Carendar of DamtHii Sttit Faperr, 1698^1001, pp« 09, C9. 



THE JESUITS AKD THE GUNTOWPVR PLOT 



idi 



of tbese Tolumeii have been out of print for m&nj yi^ars. 
A tnodern Jesuit, the Rev. John Qerard, in 1897 attacked 
the Protestant versions of the Gunpowder Treason, in a 
volume entitled ; What Wa9 the Gunpowder Plot 'i* His 
attack was ably refuted hy that learned historian, the lute 
Mr. Samuel Rawson Gardiner^ in a volume bearing tlje title 
of Whal Gunpowder Plot Was, It is therefore unnecesearj 
for me to enter into the general controversy raised bj 
Father Gerard, S*J. I will sioiplj confine myaelf to the 
p&rt which the Jesuita are said to have bad in the Plot. 

Every on© of the Gunpowder Plotters waa entitled to be 
ranked aa a gentlemant with the exception of Bates. They 
appear to have all been the spiritual children of the Jebuitn. 
One of the Jesuit priests implicated in the Plot was Father 
John Gerardf who by a singular coincidence bore the same 
name as the author whose book I have just referred to. He 
escaped to the Continent^ and subsequently wrote a history 
of the Plot, from the Jesuit point of view, which was first 
published in full by the English Jesuits^ in 1871, in The 
Condition of CaXholics Under James I., edited by John Morris, 
S.J. A portion of the narrative of Gerard, relating; to events 
previous to the discovery of the Plot^ has also appeared m 
the ** Quarterly Series *^ of books issued by the English Jesuits, 
entitled During the Persecution. Autohiographij of Father 
John Gerard of the Hocieti/ of Jesus^ edited by G, B, King- 
don, S.J. 

This Gerard gives a very Sattering account of the religious 
eondition of most of the Conspirators. Robert Catesby waa 
the first to plan the Gunpowder Plot^ and if ever villain 
deserved to die, he waa the man. Yet Gerard, who knew 
him weU, tells us that " he was a continual means of helping 
others to often freqnentation of the Sacramcnt.s, to which 
end he kept and maintained priests in several places. And 
for himself be duly received the Blessed Sacrament every 
Sunday and Fe^^tival Day ... so that it might plainly appear 
he had the fear of God joined with an earnest desire to 



192 



THI JXSUITB IN OBKiT BRITinf 



Him.'^ ' Catesby was a penitent of Father "Green- 
a Jesoii, wlios« real name was Tesimond. ' 

was the reli^ous character af tbe notorious Guj 
This same Father Tesimond, alias Gieeu- 



aerre 
woj; 

What 
Fawkes himself? 



way, who knew him personally, testifies that *' he was a man 
of great piety, of exemplary temperance, Qf mild and cheerful 
demeanomr, an enemy of broils and disputes, a faithful iriend, 
and remarkable for his punctual attendance upon religious 
observances.'' * Father Gerard tells of Guy Fawkes that *' at his 
apprehension, he had a shirt of hair found upon his bflck/' * 

Thomas Percy, another plotter, whose guilt is not denied 
by any Koman Catholic, was, says Father Gerard, one who 
by ** often frequentation of tb^ Sacraments" came '*to live 
a very staid and sober life, and for a yaar or two before 
hia death kept a priest continually in the country to do 
good unto his family and neighbours/^ ^ 

Thomas Winter, says the same Father Gerard, "waa 
Tery devout and s^ealous iu his faitb^ and c^u^eful to come 
often to the Sacraments.^* * 

John Wright, the same Jesuit authority declares, **grew 
to be ataid and of good sober carriage after he was a 
Catholic, and kept house in Lincolnshire, where he had 
priests come often, both for his spiritual comfort and their 
own in corporal helps." ^ 

Christopher Wright another Conspirator was, says Father 
Gerard, ^'a zealous Catholic, and trusty and aecret in any 
business as could be wished, in respect whereof they [the 
other Conspirators] esteemed hira very fit to be of their 
company and so caused him to take the oaths of secrecy 
and he received the Blessed Sacrament thereupon (aa they 
had also done) and so admitted him/* * 



* TA^ Life of s^ CitHMpifiUor, By Oae of tlii l^ctrenJaiits. T-OiKJ-jn, 1 ^^5, p. fOt, 



I 



■ 



Hid., p. &S. 



i»«rf., p. B». » Uid., p* 69- • /Hrf.| p. 70, 



SELIGIOUB GUKFOWDEK PLOTTE&fi 



193 



Robert Winter *' waa also An eartieat Catkolic,'* * 

Of otber Conspirators, we are iGformed by Father Gerard 
that Mr. Ambrose Kookewood ^* was brought up m Catholic 
religion from his infancy and was eyer very deyout " and 
tbat "he was known to be of grettt rirtue."' 

John Grant tmssi have been a very pious Roman Catholic 
for he kept " a priest in hta house, which he did with great 
fruit unto his neighbours and comfort to himself." ' 

Of Robart Keys it is recorded, by the same Jesuit priest, 
that '*he had great measure'' of ** virtue."* 

Sir Everai'd Digby was also put to death as one of the 
Conspirators, and no modem Jesuit attempts to deny that 
he was guilty. Of Digby and his wife, Father Gerard writes : 
"Certainly they were a favoured pair. Both gave themselves 
wholly to God's aervice^ and the husband afterwards sacrtficrd 
aU his property, his liberty — nay, even his life^ for Ood*s 
Church:' ' 

I should think it would have been more accurate to have 
a&id, not that Digby "sacrificed" his "life for God's Church," 
but that he sacrificed ifc in a wicked attempt to commit 
wholesale murder. This Jesuit furtht^r relates that Digby 
^'^used his prayers daily, both mental and vocal, and daily 
and diligent examination of his conscience: the Sacraments 
he frequented devoutly every week," * Audj further, Gerard 
declares of Digby: — "He was a most devoted friend to me, 
just as if he had been my twin-brother/' ^ 

Now here we have tho religious character of eleten out 
thirteen Gunpowder Plot Conspirators executed for their 
crimes^ and of whose guilt there is no question. The Jesuit 
priests and Jesuit Lay Brothers implicated in the plot are 
not included amongst the thirteen. All of these eleven were, 



> Comdiiiom of C^(haUc4t p, Tl. - l^id^t pp. SS, S6, 

• iHi., f, ft?. * n^,, p. 87. 
» Dmr$iv^ She Pfrtfeutiam, p, SI 2. 

• C<maitU^ 0/ Cstkoiif$, p. 69, 



U 



194 



TEE JISUTTfl Dl OKEAT »KttAtK 



then, ^ we Uftm solelj on Jesuit authoritj, what is now 
termed ^\good Catholics^* who attended regularlj to their 
religiaiis duiies. All we can say now about the qualitj of 
their religioD la that, if they were "good Catholics," we 
may be quite certain that they were verj bad Chriatians. 

It so happens that we hare^ recorded by the Jesuits 
themselTe*, the opinion of a Jesuit* residing in Kngland at 
this period, on King Killing, when ordered by auperior 
Buihorityi It was printed by Henry Foley, S.J*, in 1878, 
from a MS. narrative of the period, preserved in the Jeanita* 
College at Stonyhurst. The Jesuit priest ta whom it refers 
was Father Thomas Strange, who was in priaoo in London 
m 1606, soon after the dtscoYery of the Gunpowder Plot 
The writer states that: 

*'To excite the Kin^ ^ainet the Father [TbomaB StrangeJL he 
[Ceeil] wished to know hie mind upon the Miibcnty of the I^ope 
to depose hia Mnje&ty^ and if ii v\ui iaw/ul to kill a deposed Kimg, 
The Father replied that lie bad been bronght to the examination 
to give account of his deeds, nnd he deatred before going to another 

goint to be declared innoc^eul of the chargea laid againat him. 
ut Cecil wiahpd above all thinps to tnow hie opinion ; and so the 
Father replied thAt tlie »ubject« of a d«po4ed KiDg were no ]on^r 
eabjects. and that when a deifosed Kiii« came to do violence. IKb 
tub^ect in nelf-dejence mi§ht Kill the K^g. Cecil wjxs uot fiati^ljecl 
with thip, b«t wiahed him to answer straight forward I r if in such 
a case of deposition it w«s lawful for |[i« Hubjuct to kill hia Kiot;? 
But the Father would give no other reply, biit that it vi^a lawful 
to do what the Church had defined. 'Than/ says Cecil, *if it is 
defined in such a case by the Church that the subject caa kill 
bis King, you also hold it lawful T ' Y&* iay* the Father.** ^ 

Men who held Tiewa like those of this Jesuit Father 
Strai]f;r«^ werCj it will be admitted^ a dangerous claaa 
for the Government to have to deal with in those most 
dangerous times. They needed to be carefully watched. It 
is worthy of note, as showing the state of things at the 
preaent time ainon^t the English Jeauits, that in printing 
tliis narrativBf Brother Henry Foley, S.J, has not one word 
of cenaure for the King Killing and murderous doctrine of 
Father Thomas Strange, SJ, 

< H^eordi of ike £»tfiitA Prffvimee, SJ., vol. it., p. ft. 



I 



TRS JESUIT TE^mOND AND TH£ PLOT 



19$ 



As to the connection of Father TeBimond, o^i'oj Qreenwaj^ 

with the Gunpowder Plot, we have the evidence of Thomas 
BateSi Cateshy's servant. He stated, while under examination : 

*• Then tbey fth© Conspiratow CAteaby and Thoroas Winter], 
told him [Bates] thut be wa3 to receive the S&crftment for the more 
aesurajice, and he thereupon went to Coiife&siorv to ax^^^^^'^^^ 
Greetiway; find in Ckynfession told Green way that he wft& to conceal 
n very dHngeroiaa piece of work that hia ij^aster Catesby and 
Thomas Winter bad imparted unto him; and tbat he^ being fearful 
of it, asked the counsel of Greenway, telling the aaid Greenway 
(which he was not de^iroun to bear) their particular intent and 
porpoae of blowing up the Padiament House r and Greeiiway the 
pneat thereto said that he would take no notice thereof, but that he 
the said examinatei should be KCret in thai which hu rtiasUr had 
imparted unto kifn, BECJiufiE IT WAS FOn A good cause, and that he 
willed this examinate to i«ll no other priest of it, And tkrr&upon 
the aaici priest Greentoay gave ihU tzaminaie AbsoltiHon: and he 
received the Sacrament in the conapany of his maeter Robert Cateaby 
and Thomas Winter." ' 



This was Bates' Confession, and very damaging it was to 
the character of the Jesuit Greenway, who had thus, in the 
Confessional, declared that the Conspirators were engaged m 
"a good cause/^ But how does the modern Father Gerard 
deal with the difficulty? In a thoroughly Jesuitical manner! 
He declare B of Bates* Confession that ** he afterwards retracted 
it."* This assertion is simply an untruth. Bates never 
retracted hia very damaging Confession. In proof of hia 
aaaertion Father Gerard quotes a letter written by Bates 
when in prison to hia Father Confessor ; and he quotes it 
in this unfair manner: ^*At mj last/^ wrote Bates, "being 
before them, I told them I thought Mr. Greenway knew of 
this business. . . . This I told them and do more. For 
which I am heartily aorry for, and I trust God will forgive 
me, for I did it not out of malice^ but in hope to gain nny 
life by it, which I now think did me no good. Thus 
desiring your daily prayers, I commit you to God.*' Father 
Gerard gires as his reference for Batas^ letter his naoa- 

> Jf[fdiD«'» Cnminal JVialt, to), ii., p. 184. 
I TJU MomiA^ Jtiiauy, IBQG, p. 10. 



196 



Tn JMSVWJ9 V nUT BSITADI 



B*s «*fl«alory y liW Oumporndfr PW«** psg« 210. On 
tnnung U> ihss hislorr, I Sod tii«i ike moleni Father Gerard 
Itts left OQi an unportast psnagie m the middle of hia 
qvoMioii (though witli the vmui loarks of oznissioD) 
vlikli cntirelj orerthiows \us ooniantMm th&t Bates in it 
'*retnct«d*' hk CooSbssuni. Wh«t Bat^ wrote w&s this: 

*At 1117 iMt tMing bdon tbem I tcld tbeia I tbnn^h( Mr. 
O waeii w m y kii«« of Ihii bauDAAs, bot I did t>ot ckarg:e the oUi«f* 
with iv bqt Ihftt I flAw them ftU togeUMr with war master al saj 
Lord Yaux'tt, ajid that after I fiav Mr. Waliej and Mr. QrMnway 
al Coughloa, amd rr u tbui. For I wa« Mnt thither with a 
lottv, ftikd Mr, Qroeamy rode wilh me k> Mr. Winbear^a to mj 
Mailer, aDd fioia Ibsooe be rode to Mr. Abingtoc's. This I told 
tbeat and ao uore^ For which f am heutiljr aoiry" etc 

We thus aee, hr readii^ the passage of Bat^^ letter 
omitted bj Father Gerard, that in it Bates, instead of 
^* retracting" what he had said about Father Greenwajf 
declAres, on the contrary^ that " rr is t«cm.*' He waa ** he&rtilj 
sorry," and trosted God would fofgiTe him, not becattse hev 
had told an untruth^ but because it had brcught trouble on 
hk master, and eternal and richlj merited disgrace upon 
the Jeeoit Order, 

Father Gerard finther informs us that *'• Greenwaj himself, 
when he was afterwards beroitd reach of dacj^er. declared en his 
saltation, that Bates Qever spoke one word to him of the Plot 
Mther in or oot of Confession." * This, at first sights seem^ 
almost conclosive. We would, as I have already said, n&tur* 
ally think that even a Jesuit priest who has 'Meclared oit 
his aalvation *^ that a certain statement is false, oaght to be 
helieTed. But Father Gerard^ aoon after the Plot, made a 
precisely similar false statement to that of Father Tesimo&d, 
alias Greenway, and in even stronger terms. He protested 
'^ttpon hie soul and salTatlon'^' that he did not know who 
the priest was that gare the Sacrament to the Gunpowder 
Oouspirators in a house off the Strand. ' And yet it is-' 

1 7A* MoniM, Jtniurj. 1845, p. IL 



I 



THX JESUIT OLDGOBKE AND THE PLOT 



197 



beyond poeaibility of refutation that Gerard m that protest 
made what amounted to an oath in favour of a deliberate 
and wicked lie! The Sacrament was given to the Conapira- 
iors by Gerard himself! No wonder that the bistoriant Father 
Tiemej, with reference to tbtB very circumfitatice^ declared 
Uiat 'Werj little reliance can be placed on the asservations 
of Gerard, when employed in bis own vindication/* ' It 13 
the modem Father Gerard who assurea us that equivocation^ 
BB tmed at this period by Chrnett and his brethren, was 
**not a play upon words, which the term is URually taken 
to mean, but a downright deniaP' of the plain truth. ' Bear- 
ing these facts in mind, the question naturally arises, how 
far can we trust the words, or even the oaths, of men like 
Greenway and Garnett? Greenway^s denial of the Confession 
of Bates \B therefore clearly not worth anytliing as evidence. 
He manifeBtly expressed approval of the Gunpowder Plot to 
Bates, aftier hearing from him full particulars of the pro- 
posed crime, 1 am quite certain that had this Jesuit Green- 
way been caught by the Government he would have deserved 
to die, as an accomplice in thai foul crime, just as much 
aa Cateaby or Guy Pawkes. But, fortunately for himself, 
he eacaped to the Continent* 

Now let us look, for a moment, at the case of another 
Jesuit priest, who wa? executed at Worcester for his part 
in the Gnnpowder Plot. The prieat was Father Oldcorne, 
alkis Hall, who was Father Confeaaor to Cate^by ^ and 
Robert Winter. Humphrey Littleton, who was one of those 
who gave assistance to the Conspirators after the discovery of 
the Plot, and was executed for his crime, wrote a confession 
before his death, in which he affirmed that he bad consulted 
Father Oldcornev alias HalL about the Gunpowder Plot, 
and that that Jesuit had inBtructed him that *^th€ action 



' Tiemoir^t LodJ*4 CkurcK iiiiiorf^ voL it., p<, 44, m»U, 
» Tk* Mottth. Miffth, 18S5, p. S58. 



19B 



TBI JISiriTfl m OUAT BUTAI* 



wag good; ** and he added that, in his [Oldcorae'sJ opinion, *^ al- 
though the said actioa had not good ancceaa, yet w€ts U com" 
mtndable and good, and not to be measured by the event, but 
bj the goodness of the caiue when it waa first imdertaken/* ' 
Later on, Littleton expressed his regret for having betrayed 
the Jc^uits^ but I cannot find that he ever charged himself 
with telling falsehoods about them. Father Oldcome him- 
self acknowledged that he had been consulted bj Littleton 
about the Plot, and that he told him that the Powder action 
" is not to be approved or conderonerl by the event, but by 
the proper object or end, and means which were to be used 
in it; and because I knew nothing of th^e, I will neither 
approve It twr condttnn U^ but leave it to Qod and their 
own consciences/' ' So that here we have Oldcome's own 
acknowledgment that he did not "condemn ^Hhe Gunpowder 
Plot, when consulted about it. I believe Huraphrey Littleton 
when he declares that Oldcorne told him that the Plot was 
** commeDdable and good.^* 

And here it may be well to mention that a secular Roman 
Catholic priest named Clark, writing to a friend about Bve 
years before the Gunpowder Treason, remarks of this same 
Oldcorne : 

'*It 19 ^U6 that Mr. Oldcorne dealt with ft gentleman^ and my 
friesid, to hare been of a certain email number aa I take it 25 or 
13, aU which &a he aaid should be gentlemen or gentlemenV 
fetlowa, who should upon a eudden surprise the T^wer of London* 
The manner flhould hnve been (o^ Mr. Oldcome said) that the 
said partiea should 00 disi^pOHe of themftelvea, &b that »ome of them 
being entered under some pretenoe or other ^ the reet should sad* 
denly set upon the Tvarders, kftock iheni down etnd tiay ih^m^ and 
then taking »way the keys, posuess the reat of the wards, ftnd *o 
maintain the eaid Tower for some mouth or six weeks, until aid 
abould come from the Spani&rd. This attetnpt waa to have b^en 
practieed, if their deeigns had taken place, luuch about the time 
of the inyesting of our uew Archpriest, But vthen the ^ood JeAuit 
perceived that this gentlemabf iu whom, as I dure boldly ft.^rm, 
never seintil of disloyalty towards his Prince and country did ouoa 
lurke, ^Uogether misliked such courflee, as dbloyal aud treacher- 



4 



% 



« IHd., p. £S7. 



il9. 



FITHBR QA&NE1TB CONPEfiSlOU OF QUILT 



199 



I in themaelves, and foal and Uinty to the actors, he gladly would 
havo intreated secrecy therein; which aaauredly hfrd not faUen out 
if this plot hud not been let fall, by reason of contrary aucceuB, 
aa 1 auppoftej bo their expectatioiis in their Spanish attempla.'^ ^ 

It will probably surprise some of mj readers to learn 
that the present Pope, Leo XIII, has raised this self'-same 
Jesuit, Father Oldcorae, to the ranks of the *' Venerable/^ 
as a preliminarj to his expected BeatificatioD^ and eveotual 
CanonizatioD. 

"With Oldcorne two other Gunpowder Plot men, lay 
Brothers of the Jesuit Order, have also been raised to the 
rank of ''* Venerable" by the present Pope, with a view to 
their ultimate CanomKatian^imniely, Kicholas Owen and 
Ralph Aahlej. And even the notorious Father Henry Gameit 
himself is down on the list for consideration of his claims 
to be ultimately declared a Canonized Saint in Heaven ! * 

None of these Jesuits died for their religion, but for an 
alleged partici p ation in an attem p t to com mit w h o I es ale 
murder. If a Protestant were at the present time put to 
death in Spam for an attempt to commit wholesale murder 
hj dynamite, no one in England would think of saying, 
even if the man were innocent, that he died for the Pro- 
testant religion. Thifs action of Pope Leo Xill. has a very 
unpleasant look about it. 

We hare now to consider the alleged guilt of Father 
Henry Garnett. My case against him rests mainly upon hia 
own acknowledgments of guilt. The first of these is his Con- 
fession written with his own hand, and still in eiistence at 
the State Paper Office. The modem Father Gerard admits 
that it iB a genuine document. ' It is as follows: 

"I, Heniy Gam^tt^ of the Society of Jeiiie, Priest, do here freely 
protMt before Qod, that I hold the late intention of the Powder 



' SUntoo'i Menohgf of En^fiaad and Watti^ p. QSS, whert we ^rc tuld tNt 
Oirnctt'* 'V«Bke i* deferred far fiirtber iuv^tigidon/^ 




vo«M mmt bcinj 
of Mr. €m%tthfm 



m, thftl tbejr no wmj bmld q; 




mu •/ 
hap* «/ 

vhkh I k«d bj him. / db 



0/ mS /mpmmrn; exhdrti^ aU GklholicB 



■ftf bmld opom nay tacB^^Ici, boi Inr 
Ibe peMse of tbe waha, hopiac >* bv 
Dou Uttt ther fthAD eaiof tbetr woaled 



they thaU e^i0f tbetr woaled 

^m b«i4eB of mime or oCfaav* ^^»**"ltt or 

wbcrDoC I hAve written Ibk with mf own 

I gare ft brief qootatioD from tbU ConieaBioii of gtiili m 
a pftper which I wrote, and wliich w«s read at the National 
ProtestantCoiigreaBat Preston fin October, 1895. Immediately 
after the word ** intention** in the sentence, ^'' I did not rereal 
the general knowledfre of Mr. Catesbj's int«ntioQ whicli 1 had 
hj him," I inserted in my paper, within square brackets, as aa 
explanation of tbe word ** iiitentioii/' the toUowing sentence — 
" to blow up the Houses of Parliament." The modem Father 
Gerard, when he read these words, was very angry with me, 
an<1 wrote a letter to the Eock^ which he subsequently had 
iiiMjrted in the TaUtt^ in which he declared that the ''general 
knowledge of Mr. Cateabj^s intention'' which Gamett admitted 
to have received outside of the Confessional, '*did not include 
the particular scheme on which Catesby was engaged. He 
kni-w that tliLi man and others were talking of the resistance 
to tlie p(*raecution directed against them, bat he nerer heard 
from them of the Powder Plot^ which, according to their 
own duc[arationB| he carefully concealed from him/^ * 

Now to all this 1 replied that Father Garnett knew what 






TKC comtaaiornh kttxi Tai plot 



201 



CatesVj toM him^ far better ihan my critic or myself. At 
bis trial Gamett said: — I am well assured that Catholics in 
general did never Like of tbia action of Powder, for it was 
prejudicial to them at! ; and it wag a particular crime of 
mine^ that when I knew of the action I did not diaclo^ it.'* ' 
This is, tmrelj^ as plain and distinct an words can make it* 
Gamett admits that he *^ knew of the action " and that it 
waa a "crime" on his part that he *' did not disclose it," 
This is on opinion which he would not arow of knowledge 
receiTed m thi Confei^Jiional. He would neirer consider it a 
"crime'' to conceal what he heard in the Confessional; on 
the contrarj be would think it a Tirtue to keep the "seal 
of Confession," It is therefore plain that I waa fullj justified 
in aaaerting that '^Cateaby's intention'' which was rerealed 
to G&mett generallj, related to his design to blow up the 
Houses of Parliament by Gunpowder. If that was not 
Cfttesby^s ** intention '^ which he revealed to Gamett, 1 chal- 
lenge any one to name any other ** intention,'^ or plot, which 
Cateisby had in hand at that time. Mr. Jardine was ap- 
pealed to by Father Gerard, as though be were on bis aide. 
But this is not so. Mr> Jardine is on my side on this 
qaestion, for he writes : " In the £rsfc place, that GameU 
had some general knotdfdge of the Plot front Cafesby . . * i* 
quite tvidtnty ^ On the day after he made the confession 
of guilt cited above, Garnett wrote to Grcenway: — '*! wrote 
yesterday a letter to the King, in which I avowed, as I do 
DOW, that I always condemned that intention of the Powder 
Plot; and I admilied thtU 1 might have mealed iJt^ general 
hnmcled^e I had of it from Catesb^ out of Confession^ and should 
have done so if 1 had not relied upon the Pope^s interference 
to prevent their design, and had not been unwilling to betray 
my friend; and in ^ts / confeBsfd thai I had sinned both 
against God and ihe Kingf and praged for pardon from both.'*^* 

I J*rdine'« Crimtnai Tri^t. »*l. ii., p. %%%, 

> Jir4tae*i y^tmii^ of the (HnpoioiUt tt^^ p. 388^ 

' TuBton'ft Si»torf of tJif JtMnii* im kn^Und, ji* SlB, 



202 



TBS JBSC1T8 U OUUT BftlWS 



Gamett's strong language of self-reproach shows that he 
had done aomething which he thought was rery wicked, and 
a crime against God and man. Father Gerard now tella m 
that two jeara before the Gunpowder Plot, Father Gamett 
diBCOTered that a political plot against the GoTeTTimeDt of 
King James was being h^itched bj two Secular Roman 
Catholic pne&ts, and that be and another Jesuit "actnally 
conTejed information of the scheme to the Government,^^ ^ 
We maj well ask, why did he not do the same thing, when 
he heard from Catesby of Aw disloyal "intention"? I fear 
that the only reai^onable answer to this question must be 
that, in the one case^ those disloyal secular priests were bitter 
enemies of the Jesuits, who were therefore anxious to get rid 
of them altopfether; while, in the other case, the Jesuita 
appro red of the Quu powder Plot^ and therefore woidd not 
reveal their knowledge of it. It is said that Gamett wrote 
to the Pope, [isking him to put down commotions amongst 
the English Koniftnists. But why did he not write to the 
English Government, to whom the information would hate 
been of real value? Some mouths before the Plot was 
discovered Father Greenway revealed the fidl particulars of 
the Plot te Gamett, it is said in Confession. But even Ln 
this instance the information was given to him in such a 
way as to leave him free to reveal it to the Government if 
he should "be brought in question for it." Writing to Mrs. 
Vaux, Garnett said: — ** I acknowledged that Mr. Greenwell 
[one of Greenway^fl aliases] only told me in Confesaion, y#t 
$0 that I might reveal it if after I should be brought into 
question for W* ^ He wan called in question for it, but 
waited a long time, until it was too late to be of any use, 
before he reveal ed ih e kno wl edge he possessed. Why 
this concealment? Mr Gardiner, the Historian, was quoted 
against me by Father Gerard ; but here also I claimed tiiat 



I 



I 



I 



I 



i fkt Monik, Mw^b, UBB. p. ass. 

' Mrcerdi ef /Ar Englith Ffovincei SJ"., fol. it., p. 104. 



WAS OAJLTTETT A lUfiTVR? 



203 



k 



Mr. Gardiner is on my Bide, and not on that of my oppo- 
nent Mr. Gardiner writes thus: 



W 



"On the scaffold he [Gjumett] persisted in bis cteuial that he 
"had any poaitive information 0/ (he Fiot except in Confeaaioiip 
ibougLi he ntlowed^ ju he at^kDOwledt^ed before, that be had a 
eecteral and coofuaed kuo'wMge froiu Catcsby. la all probability 
lAia ia ■ 



the truth." * 



^ 



It is e^idest to anyone who carefully studms the quotation 
I have ju£t given from Gardiner, that that hifitorian con- 
necta the ** general and confused knowledge from Catesbj*^ 
with ^^the plot^* which he had just mentioned before — that 
iS| the Gunpowder Plot* 

If anj further eFjdence be needed of Qarnett's guilt it will 
be found in his speech to the Deans of Westminster, St. Pauls, 
and the Chapel Royal, shortly before his death. Thej visited 
him together in prison, and one of these gentlemen asked him : 

'^ ' Whether be conceived that the Church of Rome, after his 
death, would declare htm a mart,yr; and whether, ai a matter of 
opinion and doctrine, he thought the Chtjroh would be right in 
doing so^ and that he ehoald in tbfit cate really beooriie a martyrf 
Upun this Garnett exclaimed, with a ilet^p aigh, 'I a meutyrt Oh 
what a martyr I should be I God forbid \ If, indeed, I were really 
about to suffer death for the sake of the Catholic relipoii, and if 
I bad never known of this projw:t ©icept by the meima of Sacra- 
mental Confeddion, 1 might i>erhapa be accounted worthy of the 
honour of martyrdom, and might dcserTedly be glorified iu the 
opinion of the Cbitrch; as it ii, I aehwwledge myself to hav^ $ptified 
in UUm rt^iipectf and d^iy not the Jiaiitx of the sMUfittce paaited upon 
m«/ 'Would to God/ he added, 'that I could recall that which 
has been donet Would to God that anything had happened rather 
than this stain of treason should attach to my name! I krnow that 
fny offmee is fao«f gtievowt^ though I have confidence m Christ to 
pardon me on ray hearty penitence; but I would give the whole 
world, if I poiMi«d it, to be able to die without the veight of 
this tin upon r»f 90uL' " * 



Who con doubt Father Oarnett^a guilt, after reading this 
confession of his misdeeds? 



> Gftfdiner'i Hitiory 0/ Ertglumd^ fgL i , p» 2SS. Blitian 1887, 

> Ju4iH*» Jfamtiipi 9/ the Gmnjufvdn- FUt, pf. S60, :£&!, 



CHAPTER VII 



A QOEEIf A8 A DISGUISED ROMANIST 



Thx fact that the wife of a King of England waa secreilj 
A Roman Catholic, while openly attending^ the serrices of the 
Church of Eagland^ is certainly sturtting. Yet the fact cannot 
be denied. The Jesuits themseUea, who are pnmarily Fespons- 
ible for the secret reception of the Queen, are the first to 
Dftake known to the public full particulars of the subtilty and 
deception practised under the g'uidance of thetr predecessors. 
The lady in question was Anne of Denmark^ wife of James VI. 
of Scotland, subsequently Jjunes I. of England. This secret 
reception of a Queen enabled the Jesuits to hare a tniat- 
worthy spy of their own, and a traitor to the religion she 
openly professed, eren in the bosom of the King himself^ 
and that for upwards of twenty years! Anne of Denmark 
imd been ednoated in the Lutheran Churck, and on her 
m&rriage with Jamee VI., Kovember 23rd, 1589, it waa 
agreed that she should be permitted the free eserciae of her 
religion in Scotland, and accordingly she brought with her 
a Lutheran chaplain to look after her spiritual mtereats. 
There is some doubt as to the exact year in which the Queen 
was received into the Church of Rome* Father Itobert Aber* 
crombie, S.J*, who claims to have received her, states that 
*' About the year 1600 she began to think about changing 
her religion ; *' ' but Father MacQuhirrie, S.J., also a Scotch- 
man, writing in 1601^ affirms that the event had taken place 
** three years ago," ' that is, in 1598. I am inclined to think 

> NatT»imet of ScoUuk CetkaOiU, p. tl%. 



I 



I 



1 



I 



aKC'RET BBCEniON OF THE QtTEEN 



205 



that it took place even before the latter date, A few refer- 
ences to the Qaeec In the Calendars of State Papers bare 
led tne to adopt this opinion. Writing from Brussels on 
May 17th^ 1595^ Dr. W, Gifford, a well-known Roman 
Catholic priest^ announces;^** The King of Scots' wife is 
reconciled; this is a great secret, but Father Creigbton told 
Paget.'* ^ Creigbton, who gave this inforniation, was a Scotch 
Jesuit, who was sure to be accurately informed aa to so 
uDportaat an eTent. The next entry on the subject is nearly 
two years later. John Petit, writing April 29th, 1597, from 
Brussels to Phelippes remarks: — *' The Queen of Scots is 
■ concerted, and wants but i^bsolution.^^ ^ If Anne seceded to 
Rome in 1595 she would bare been secretly a Roman Catholic 
for twenty-four years at the time of her death, in 1619. 
If we accept Fatiier Abercrombie^s date, she was a Romanist 
nineteen years, during which her life may be truly said to 
have been an acted lie. The story of her reception is graphic- 
ally related by Father Abercrombie himself, in a letter dated 
September^ 1608, addressed to a Scotchman named John 
Stuart, Prior of the Monastery of Ratisbon, The italics in 
the quotation &om this letter are mine: — 

H "Aboot the year 1600 |QQe«ii Anne] began," wrote Abercrombie, 
''bo ihinic about cbiing:ins her religion from LutherAnism loOAtho^ 
foiaiD«.*. It recurred to ber how, being in Gerruimy while she 
waa rety youDj*^, and resident for her educfttion iu the hoaae of a 
cerUin CTeat Frincefts who wna a Catholic, she had seen a prieat 
who daily celebrated Maea; Ihe memory of whom, imd ibe love 
of the FrinceM (who, if I be not mistaken, was the tn^anddaughter 
of Charles the Fifth), suggested ic her that she should eo^brfte« 
thiU religion. She coasmltea some friends of hen, who were Cfttho* 
lies, about thia matter, eapecially a CathoHc Earl, aa w> what should 
be done, and he a.sBured her that the OatJiolic Relif^ioa wa« the 
only true reli^ioD« and that all the rest wej'e lects and heresies; 
and h« reeommeDded me by name to her a« her spbilaal &ther. 
After a coneidenLble deUy» X wae summoned to wait apoo the 
Queen, where, having been introduced into the Palace, I remaiiMid 
for three days in a certain eecret chamber. Svery mommf for 
one hoor she came to tne there for the purpose of beinj^ ine^uoted, 
•r ladies remaining aH that time in the outward chamber, while 

^ Ctiaidsr of Domr4tic SUU$ r^p^t, £li»betli. toI. odii. p. SI, 



ihd„ 



39L 



206 



Tax JKSCJTS IN OtEAT ftSttiiS 



vbe herftBlf went Into it, &s thoupch ahe had some letters to write. 
Whenever ehe c&me oat ehe always cAZTied some p»per ic her hand 
Od the third day she heard Haas, and received from me the Most 
Hoix Sftcmment, and then I Look iny departure from her. My stay 
\n 8ootiand did Tiot exceed two joara complete after this Gom- 
munton, durinfc which time, if my memoTy dofts not cheat me» 
t/M nine iime$ received ike Moat Hotff Sacramentj and thift so early 
in the morning; that all the re^t of the household was asleep, with 
the exception of a few women, who comma nicated along with her. 
After CkimmtinioQ, fthe alwAys gave herself op to holy cooversa- 
tioD^ SometimeA the expressed her dfmre ifiat h^ htuband ahouid 
be a Catholic^ at oih^ Hfne* a^<m( tht education 0/ her Bon ' 
under the dirt*ctum 0/ the Sovereufn Pontiff, She ftpoke also about 
the happineaa of the life of a Nun, among whom she saidahewafl 
Bure she would end her dayB^ Bhe had a great scruple beoauM ft 
part of her dower arofio from u Moua^'itery, and she promised that 
whenever there shonld be a change of reli^^ion she would restore 
that Monastery either to its lawful owners, or at le^ut would change 
it into a College of Jesuits. Bbe wnuid not set out for EnRland * 
until I hnd been summoned, &ad had provided her with the Most 
Holy Viaticum, promiainp further that I would come to her in 
En^^land if she should summon me. 

"As a consequence of this frequent use of the Sacramenta, her 
husband noticed a pteni improvement in her, aivd suspecting that 
it aroBe from the iofluetice of Bome Popish prieal — noticioff aUo 
that she held her own Minister in contempt — one night when they 
were in l>ed (she herself told me the story) he &poke to her in 
eome Buch terms aa these : *' I cannot but »ee a great chan^ in 
j'ou; you are much more grave, collectod and pious, I nupeU,* 
therefore, that you have some deHUnjr« with a Catholic priest*' 
She admitted that it w*w so» and she named me^ an old cripple* 
His only answer was this: 'Well, wife, if you cannot I lvb witaont 
this sort of thtngt rfc y&ttr hat to jfewp ihings m qxii^i <u pofff»6^. 
for if you don*i &ur Crovin if in danger,* After this confareoioe 
between them, the King always behaved to me with greater gentle 
nesB and kindnesA, 

"The Queen, moreover, spoke with such of the leading conrtiers 
as had shewn ihem&elvea most hoatile to the priests, advismg them 
to do me no harra^ unlesa they wished to incur her anger, aud 
this they promif^ed . , . « 

**One of the leading ladioH of the Court has written to me from 
Greenwich about the Queen's sUite of mind at this preeent timd 
If.*,, in 1608], Afl to her religion, she is just as she was when I 
left her; there is this difference, however, that she can no longer 
enjoy the free practice of her religion whioh she had while in 



' Tbm the heir t« tha timnei of £t>glatid tad ScotUnd. 

' Tlutt it, in 1A03, when her haahAnd Iweame Kin^ of Engltnd. 

* It i* pUio, theri'tore, tlmt he *»« not *ttr*: Thi« itory pro?** lh«f tH* 
Queeo wm sljly rereired by the Jeiaiu into this Chareh of Koine, wilhout tbe 
eouent of her hiithuid, ind sTm witbont bii lEnowledge. 



I 



I 



'KEEPEK OF ai8 MlJEflTT 3 HAWfiS 



207 



I 



Sootland. I will here record two ftcta of h«rfl^ which sb{»w her 
heroic courage* 

"The first of the two occnrred shortly after the Aniv»1 of the 
King &r\d Queen in Knf^land, &t the tttue of their coronatioa. 
When they reached the ChuicU H hard beeu decided that before 
they could be clowned they mwet receive communicti in the 
heretical fAshion. Thia the £ing did fortbfvithi bat the Queen 
lefusedr staling distinctly that ahe would not eemmtinicftte, Aud 
rather than receive their commuuiou would go without the Coro* 
nation. The King and the couucillorH were urgent with her» but 
aU in vnin. 

*'The ueit iui)tn.nce ia the following i^Upon one oecaaion she 
Tidted the Spaniiih Ambiissador; apparently it wa.*^ a mere matter 
of compliment: but she h^atd Maw, and rtfceived the -mosi AdorabU 
Sacrament. When the King heard it he acolded her bitterly^ and 
told her that she would lose the Crowi] and (he Kingdom. 

**Wbat shall I say about their dazighterf I knew her very in- 
timately when she was about eight or len years old^ She vku 
ifrouffhi up in ths hmute of a Calholic lady^ who 18 a Countess, and 
is a child of most excellent disposition. 



W 



'* Braunabergt in the month of September, 1608* 

** Bobeit Abercrombiei Priest of the Society of Jesui. 

*'To the Very Reverend Father and Lord in Christ. John Stuart, 
of the Order of St, Benedict, Prior of the Monaelery of the Scots 
HatisboQ. bia moet honoured Father and fneud." ^ 



It will be observed from tbia letter tbat the Queen be- 
came a Roman Calholic without the consent^ and even 
without tbe knowledge of her Royal huBband. The King, 
howerer, does not appear to hare made any effort to reclaim 
his wife to Proteatanttsm. On the contrary ^ he seems to 
have taken pains to supply her with the religious consolation 
she now co feted. He actually appointed Father Ab^crombie 
to tbe oflSce of ** the Keeper of his Majesty's hawhs " ' and 
in this disguised character be was able to obtain access to 
the Queen's person, without exciting the suspicions of the 
nnmerouB Protestants around her. But though the King 
wafi indififerent to his wife^s spiritual state, she was not 
indifferent to hia. She held frequent conversations with him, 
for the purpose of perverting him to Popery. Within a 

I Tki Month, vol. tvi., pp. S59--2«L 
* 2kid.^ p. Sfil. 



208 TBI JESUITS IS 0BMLT BSIT^ni 

year after her reception the Queen opened negotiations with 
the Pope, which are thus rehited by the Scottish Jesuit, ■ 
Father MacQuhirrie, in a M«fnorial of the State (ff ScotUtndj 
which he wrote to the General of the Jesuits in 1601:^-- 



I 



^lu the Dfdt year of her reconciliation ihe waa Terv desiTons 
to render due ChmtiAH hom&ge k> hi« HoHnees by IneUer, and 

acoordii&gly enjoined hi^r spiritunl ftxther to dictate a suitable letter 
for her to write to ha Holinees, informing hinj of berreconcitialion 
with the Gath<4ic Church, and tendering ner obedience «nd respect. 
Bhe alao wrote a letter^ *ddress«d to your Fatemity [the General 
of the Jaenita], requesting him to act aa her advocate with his 
Holiseee, Both these letters were written out, signed and sealed, 
with the QHcen's own band. The person eelected by her Majeaty 
to convey theae letters, JazneF^ W<K>dp of Boaiton, took charge of 
them; bet waa ohortly alterward^, as you have heard, taken ph^oner 
And beheaded. He loet his life^ bej'ond all doubt, in behalf of 
the Catholic religion, for» had he been a heretic, he would cert&mjy 
not have exponed himself to eueh a. death, God» for bia greater 
glory, and the preservation of the inuocent Queen, did not permit 
the iettem to be interc*ipt«d, aod Boniton bad them eecretly con- 
y^%i to me just bttforc hia trial. After his moiTtyTdom, we aaked 
the Queen what slie would wish to be done wjih thent, and whether 
they ehould be destroyed. She replied that they were not ou any 
account to be deetroye*!, that ehe did not nhjindon her pious pur* 
pose of Beudiii^ them, but wtmld add Lbrpe othera to explain the 
cause of the long and unfortunate delay, nnd the ai^cident which 
had led to it. One of tbeee waa addreesed to bi>^ IIoLiness, another 
to the iUnelrioua Cardinal Aldobrandini, and the third to youx 
Paternity; mvtd after they bad been dicUtpd to her Bhe wrote them 
out, liigned them with her own hand, and sealed ihem, ae she had 
done the other two last. They were all to have been desjwtched 
to your Paternity laat aummer, by a oohlemau wlio wae a member 
of the Queen's bouaehoUi; but I am aehamed to own that this 
was prevented through want of naofiey. I should hartOy venture 
to writti Ihitf down, only I know to whom I am writingj and in 
whose prefloncej and that your Paternity, in whom the poor Queen 
reposes her greatest hepe^^, will regard her ffitUfltion with compas- 
sion. The lact ie, the letters are stiil in the hande of the honeot 
gentteflnan who keep« them quite snfe. Her Majesty has promised 
erery daj, for the last year, to bend the money requisite for their 
deapfttoh hut has never been able to do bo. I hope^ however, they — 
will reach you early in the spring." ^ ■ 

Jemdi *^ martyrs" are not always remnrlcable for holiness. 
This James Wood was really executed for breaking into hifl 
father^s house and stealing his property, and not for bis 

1 YotUm Ldlb, fltrt/Uivet of Scottiik OttJ^lkt, pp. £73* S74^ 



I 



TffE QUBIH "without I>OiraT A BOHANIST 



209 



religion at all, * His arrest took place at Edmburgh, after 
he had attended a Mass offered by Father MacQubime* 
Calderwood says that at his death Wood '*■ pretendad he 
Bu^ered for the Catholic Bomaii religioa, but it was no 
point of his diltaj [i.e>, indictmeat]. Only the stealing of 
his fathered eTidences and writs was laid to his charge.^^ ' 

Although the fact that Anne of Denmark wa« a Rontan 
Catholic was general! j unknown at the time, there were a select 
few, members of the Church of Rome, who were made acquaint- 
ed with the secret. Long before she left Scotland she told 
certain Roman Catholic ladies, and particularly the mother 
of Lord SetoD, that she was *^ really a Catholic, and praja 
by the Rosary/* * After her arrival in England, Beaumont, 
the French Amhasaador, had an interview with her, during 
which she told him that **she wished to show the Catholics 
some faTour, since she was of their religion in her heart, 
and that she had very frequently spoken to the King about 
his conversion, but that she had always found him firm in 
hia opposition. Tet she should always perserere in such a 
good work.^^ * Bellesheim relates that on October 29, 1603, 
Count Alfonso Mouticuculi, the Tuscan Ambassador, had an 
interriew with Anne, when she *^ professed herself a Catholic, 
and said that she desired nothing but the exaltation of Holy 
Mother Church." * 

Shortly before this, Baron de Tur, formerly French Am- 
bassador at Edinburgh, informed the Papul Nuncio at Paris 
that ''the Queen was, without doubt, a Catholic, but on 
account of the heretical Ministers in Scotland, did not 
Tenture openly to profess the faith/* * The Protestant Duke 
of Sully knew about her Popery when, a few years later, 



> GaUaivood, Suioiy o/ Or £irJt a/ $f*&aim^, f al. fi., p. 109. 
s ihd,, p. IDA. 

* Caiadmr &/ Sptmuk SUk Frnptrt^ tuL iv., p. 904. 
« TJkt M9Mtk, vol, iTi.» p. 2QS. 

* £cljcii)«iiii'* Uviorf of tk* V^ikalk CAmrtA m SaH/^md, vol nL, p. ai9. 

* /iti., p, sso. 

u 



210 



TBB JCSUIT0 tn aftUT BBtT4[jr 



b« wrote his celebrated Memoirg. "The character of this 
Princess,^* he wrote, " was quite the reverse of her husband's; 
she was naturally bold and enterprising; she loved pomp 
and grandeur, tumult and intrigue. She was deeplj engaged 
in all the civil factions, not only in Scotland, in relftiion 
to the Calholicg, whom she supported, and had even first 
encouraged, but also in England, where the discontented, _ 
whose numbers were very considemble, were not sony to I 
be supported by a Princess destined to become their Qtieen*** ' 
There is a great deal of evidence in proof of Queen Anne'« 
being a Romaa Catholic in the tenth rolume of the Venetian 
State Papers^ recently published by the Government- Scara- 
metli, the Venetian Secretary in London, writing to the ■ 
Doge and Senate on May 28th, 1603, tella them that: — | 

"The Queen [Anne], whoae father was a Martinist, and 
who had always been a Lutheran herself, became a CatholiCf 
owing to three Scottish Jesuits, one of whom came from 
Rome, the others from Spain, Although in public she went 
to the heretical Church with her husband, yet in private 
she observed the Catholic rite. With the King's consent 
the Mass was sometimes secretly celebrated for her. He is 
much attached to her, and she has obtained leatve to bring 
up her only daughter, a girl of eight, aa a CathoUe. In 
order to secure the Protestant education of Prince Henry 
[then Heir to the Throne], the King has kept him far away 
from his mother*^' ' 

Two months later ScaramelU reported that Anne was 
using her influence to get Papists into public officea of iii- 
Ruence : " The Queen/' he wrote, *' is most obedient to her 
husband, and goes with him to the heretical services, but all 
the same she endeavours to place in office as many Catholic 
nobles as possible, and as the King is extremely attached 
to her she succeeds in all she attempts.'^ ^ When the day 

> S*/iy'M Memoir*, kL iii,. p. 111. £ditioa IT5T. 
■ VtiuHan Stmte Simpers, VwL i., p, 40. 
» Bid., p, «8. 



THE QUEEN'S aiCRCT OOMMUKICATIONS WITH THE POPE 



211 



came for their Coronation of the King and Qneen in Weet- 
minaier Abbey, she was present throughout the i»erTice, but, 
fts related above, resolutely refused io partake of the Uol; 
Communion, The refufial caused a great deal of astoniiHhmeni, 
jet it does not appear to have shaken the confidence of the 
English Bishops in her religious principles, for we find one 
of them (the Bisho p of Wi nch ester) d eclariug of her : 
*' We have not the daughter of a Pharaoh, of an idolatrous 
King, nor fear we strange women to steal awaj King Jameses 
heart from God ; but a Queen a^ of a Royal, so of a religioua 
stock, professing the Gospel of Christ with him/' * 

Soon after her arrival in England Anne of Denmark 
opened up communications with the Pope, who was made 
acquainted with all that was going on. Not Long after 
her arriTal she received a present of d^rofcional objects from 
Clement VIII, The Grand Duchess of Tuscany sent her 
some sacred pictures, and Cardinal Cajetan forwarded a 
miniature Crucifix in ivory for her acceptance. The Pope 
abo aeni the Queen a letter^ dated January 28th, 1605, "in 
which," says Belleshaiin, "he congratulated her on her devo- 
tion to the Holy See, and expressed his earnest hope that 
she would educate the young Prince in the Catholic faith, 
and would also use her influence to Instil true religious 
principles into the niind of the King her husband. ' It 
would have been more to the credit of the Pope if he bad 
added an exhortation, beseeching her no longer to act the 
part of a religious hypocrite. 

It is evident that the Queen was a tool in the bands of 
the wily Jesuits, who well knew how to use such a Boyal 
pervert for their own purposes. Both English and Scotch 
Jesuits were, at that time, labouring hard in the Spanish 
ioterests. On October 29th, 1605, Mr, Levinus Muncke, 
writing from the Royal Court at Wilton, near Salisbury, to 
Mr., afterwards Sir Ralph Winwood, remarks; "Let me 

> Strir]cliA4'i Iha of tkt Qh^ai c/ En^Und, vol ir., p. 78. Editiom 1S48. 



212 



tm JSStJITS IN OKEIT BEITAtH 



tell you in your e&r without offence, she [the Queen] is 
m^erlj Spanish/^ ' About the same time Sir Charlea Com-' I 
w^Lis, English Ambassador to Spain, vrote to the Earl of 
Salisbury, (who was then activaly enj^aged in opposing the 
disloyal Bchemes of the Jesuits) warning him that the Queen 
was using her influence with the King to withdraw his 
aBecUon from him, on the ground that Salidbury was an 
enemy of Spain. The Spanish Council had decided to use, 
for their own purposes, the sertice of an English Lord, 
residing in the English Court, "expecting," wrote the 
Ambassador^ " that Lord should use the means of the Queen 
to alienate the King^s farour from you, as one who, for 
jour own enda, sought to cross her desires of amity with 
Spain." * Queen Anne's friendship for Spain, and her :&eal 
for the Baman Catholic religion, were specially ahewn in I 
her efforts to secure the marriage of her son, Prince Henry, 
with the Infanta Anne, daughter of Philip 111., King of 
Spain. The Fri n ce was the heir to th e En glish throne, 
and at that time the Infanta was heiress to the throne of M 
Spain. It was a cunning scheme, part of the plan being " 
that, before the proposed marriage, the English Prince 
should be sent to Spain for the purpose of being educated m 
in the Roman Catholic religion. * Had it aucceeded Eonie 
would have triumphed once more in the United Kingdom, 
and the civil and religious liberties of the Protestants would 
have been destroyed. Happily it was defeated- Nine years 
later, in 1613, the Queea^a love for Spain continued. At 
that time Sarmiento, the Spanish Ambassador to England, 
was engaged in bribing several of the more influential 
members of the English aristocracy , in the interests of his 
Bojal Master. Mr. Gardiner, who had access to the despatches 
of the period from Surraiento to the King of Spain, still 
preserTed in the Simancas MSS., tells ub that, ''Amongst 

> Wimriwd'i MemotiaU of Agtirt of StaUt Tol. u.^ p. 105, 

* Jkid,, p. lfi«. 

■ Gudinfir^ft Bi§turp of Engl^imd, vol. !,. p. S20. 



THf QTTBEV kT MiSS 



213 



those of whose assistance he [SarmientoJ never doubted was 
the Queen. The influence which Anne exercised over her 
husband was not great, but whateTer it waa, she was sure 
to use it on behalf of Spain. Mrs. Druromord/' he con- 
tinues, **in whom she placed all her confidence^ was a 
fervent Catholic^ and from her. whilst she was still in 
Scotland, she had learned to value the doctrines and 
principles of the Church of Rome* She did not indeed 
make open profe^ion of her faith. She still accompanied 
'her husband to the serviced of the Church of England, and 
listened with all outward show of reverence to the sernaons 
which were preached in the Chapel RoyaL But never could 
she now b^ induced to partake of the Communion at the 
hands of a Protestant minister, and those who were admitted 
to her privacy in Denmark House, knew well that, as often 
as she thought she could escape observation, the Queen of 
England was in the habit of repairing to a garret, for the 
purpose of hearing Mass from the lips of a Catholic priest, 
who was smuggled in for the purpose*" * An interesting 
story concerning one of her attendances at Moss was related 
bj a Mr. Gray to a Roman Catholic named Rant, a few 
jeftrs after the Queen^s death. It is published by Father 
Tiemej in his edition of DodtPii Church History^ vol. v., 
p. 107: "Queen Anne, being with child of Prince Charles 
[in 1600], being near her tirae, and fearing to miscarry in 
child-bed, sent for a priest, who said Mas.^, soon after mid-* 
night. A fool, that was then in Court, was in another 
room, next to the chamber where Mass was, unknown to 
any. He opens the door, while the priest elevates the 
ehalice. They shut him out. The nest day, he sported 
before the King, how bhe made good cheer at midnight^ 
wd how the table cloth was laid, and cups walking, but he 
was thrust out. The King was jealous of some worse matter; 
the Queen told him of it the truth; and he waa satisfied.''* 



« &u-diD«r^i Hiiti!r^ of EnfUitd^ vol. i., p. ^4, 



214 



TEE JWUrrS nt GEIAT BfilTAtH 



Mr, Jea3« telU tia that when Anne of Denniftrk " followed 
the King from Scottaiid it was rutnoured h& [SuUj] sajs, 
that she was coming to Enj^land, in order to add her ■ 
personal iofiuence to the Catholic faction ; a circum- 
stance which 00 disturbed the King, that he sent the Earl 
Lennox to endeavour to oppose her progress, and, if possible, 
to persuade her to return to Scotland. The Spaniards indeed, 
whose interests she adhered to lu opposition to those of 
France, appear to have rested their hopes of destroying the 
Protestant faith in England principally on her infiuence and 
exertions- She endeavoured to exert her prejudices* in favour 
of Spain and the Pope, into the mind of her son Prince Henry, 
Sully says that none doubted but that she wi& inclined to 
declare herself ^absolutely on that side*; and that in public 
she affected to have the Prince entirely under her goudance. 
In a letter from Sir Charles ComwaUis to the Earl of 
Salisbury, ahe is even stated to have told the Spanish 
Ambassador, that he might one day see the Prince of 
Wales on a pilgrimage to St. Jago/' ' 

The Queen's attachment to the Church of Rome continued 
till the end of her life, though she never made a public profes* 
don of her faith. Indeed, so artfully did she conceal her 
religious opinions that but very few, if any» suspected the 
truth. At her residence at Oatlands, in 1617, she kept two 
priests in the hoiise^ one of whom said Mass for her every 
day. At that time she was suffering from dropsy, and her 
physicians looked upon her condition with grave anxiety. 
While in this weak condition, the priests^ whose names are 
unknown, refused to hear her Confession, or give her Com- 
munion, unless she abandoned her practice of going to the 
Protestant Church services with her husband. ' But why, it 
may well be asked, did they not refrise the Sacraments to 
her when she was in good health? No doubt the Jesuita 

' J«9o'i Memoir* of the Covrt &/ Emfl^nd Dvim^ thf Rfign «/ ihr StaMit, 
BditioD 13G5, vol K p. iOi. 



I 



I 



I 



TBI DBATH QF THE QUCEN 



215 



winked at thai, in a Royal pezTert, wbicb thej would have 
condemned sererely in persons of a lower rank in life. I 
COD only find one other instance recorded in which & priest 
urged her to cease attending a Protestant service. The 
pnest was Father Richard Blount, a Jesuit. He had been 
aaked by the Queen, who was expecting to be con^ned 
shortly, to give her the Sacraments, and^ therefore, taking 
advantage of her condition and feara, he extracted from her 
B promise to go no longer to a Protestant Church. But 
Father Abercrombie's letter proves that the Sacraments of 
the Church of Rome were given to her frequently, while 
openly professing the Protestant religion; and thus her prieaia 
were partakers of her sin of deception. At O&tlands, the 
two priesta already mentioned^ easily obtained the promise 
they reqtiired from ber. The King soon after heard about 
it^ and was very angry* The Queen failed to keep her 
promise. It is recorded that subsequently *^she was able 
to attend to a long sermon, preached by the Bishop of London 
in her inner chamber" ^ Miss Strickland affirms that the 
Queen ** died in edifying communion with the Church of 
England.^* ' No doubt, to all outward appearanccd^ she did 
fiO« She received the religious ministrations of the Archbishop 
of Canterburyj and the Bishop of London, on Jier death-bed; 
but there is no evidence that they administered to her the Holy 
Communion, according to the rites of the Church of England. 
This was a most significant omission. It is certain that, though 
all her life she bad been a gay and worldly woman, she 
was then in a religious mood< Had she, at that time^ in her 
heart repudiated the Popery she had secretly cherished for 
twenty years, there can be no doubt that she would have 
received the Sacrament at the hands of the Anglican Prelates, 
who were most anxious to afford her every religious con- 
solation in their power. The fact is that down to the last 
moment of her life she did not realise that she was actually 

^ Striokl«ad'ft Lifi» 0/ tik* Qm^mt »/ Su^hMd, fd. iv.» p. 130. 



216 



TBB Jistm^a m aRiAT sbititii 



djmg, tbon^h it wu endent to &U arcuud ber that her days 
were numbered. That which girea ecdour to the ussertioQ 
th&t Anne di^d a Protest&nt is the account of her last hours 
glTon bj an eye-witness. On one occasion, when the Arch- 
biahop of Canterbury, and the Bishop of London^ wished to 
9ee the dying Queen, *^she requested their presence; and thej 
came in, and knelt by her bedside . * , Then the Arch- 
bishop said, 'Madam, we hope your Maje?^ doth tiot trost 
to your otth merits^ nor to the merits of saints, hot only 
to the blood and nierits of our Saviour. '^ — M do/ answered 
she, * I renounce the mediation of saints and ray own merits, 
and only rely on my Sayiour Christ, who haa redeemed my 
»oul by His blood/ Which declaration gave great satisfaction 
to the prelatea, and to those who heard ber.^^ * 

The question here ariees, was the Queen really sincere in 
what she said? One naturally wishes it were so, yet it is 
recorded by her biographer that, after this conversation, she 
told those about her bed that "she felt no symptoms of 
diasoloition,*^ ^ The fear of immediate death was not present 
to her, therefore, when she thus renounced the mediation of 
saints, and it ia not unreasonable to suppose that she was 
only practising those equivocating doctrines commonly taught 
at that period by th« Kngliah Jesuits, It was the Jesuit, 
Henry Qamett, who, not twenty years before, had written: 
^^Ib caae a man be urged at the hour of his deaths it is 
law&l to equirocate, with such due circumstances aa are 
required in hie Ufe/^ ' It will be noted that Queen Aime 
is represented as baling only repudiated the ^^modiation of 
saints/^ and not aay of the other peculiar doctrines of the 
Church of Rome, which she had secretly professed for so 
many years. If she had repudiated the Pope and his claims 
to the spiritual allegiance of all baptised Chri^rtians, there 
would haye been greater reason for supposing that she died 

* 8tnekkQd> Liwet ef ikt Q^^mm of Engtimd. Tot. if., p. ISl. 

' ComdUiom of Cathatiei, Edited bjr John Marrii, S.J., p. ccxx. 



I 



BOt mTExsioif "bktond dtsptitb" 217 

a PMtestant. Not one word of dying regret is recorded as 
to her past life, nor anj sorrow for the religions deception 
she had practised for so long a period. There is, therefore, 
onlj too much reason to beliere that Father Drew, S J., was 
fdllj justified in asserting that Anne of Denmark ^* died in 
the bosom of the [Roman] Catholic Church.^* * 

The whole story of the secret reception of Anne of Den- 
mark is di^p-acefiil to herself, and especially to the Jesuits 
who were so largely responsible for her life-long deception. In 
relating the story in the Month, Father Joseph Stevenson, S. J., 
manifests no abhorrence of her double-dealing. If anything 
he seems rather proud of it than otherwise. "That she 
was a Catholic," he remarks, "is, I think, beyond dispute. 
The facts rest upon her own assurance, upon the written 
eTidence of the priest by whom she was admitted into the 

Church, and upon the statement of contemporary writers 

That a Queen of England, generally presumed to be a 
Protestant Queen, and certainly the wife of a Protestant 
King, should really have been a Catholic, was an unpleasant 
conclusion at which to arriTe, and the effort has been made 
to get rid of it. Not by any attempt to prove its falsity, 
not by any strong assertion to the contrary, but by quietly 
permitting it to fall out of memory." ' 

* Quoted ia Yo\tj*» Reeorda, Tot Tii., p. 2. 
3 The MciUK Tol. xvi.> ^ S66- 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHARLES H 



That a Kinjf of England, while outwardly professing the 
Protestant Faith, should b« in heart and realitj a member 
of the Cburch of Borne &£ the same time^ maj to maoj seem 
iitcredihle aud impossible. Yet Charles II. was sQoh a dis- 
guised Etouianist throughout the whole of his reign, and for 
at least four years before he ascended the throne of England. 
That he died a Roman Catholic is well known to every 
reader of English history, but that for so many years his 
outward religious profession was a mask only, is not so widely 
known as it should be. Charles II. was not a useless perrert 
of the Jeauits, for throughout his whole rei^ he rendered 
important services to the Church of Rome, though at timea 
the inheri'nt weakness and cowardhness of his character was 
teen in siting the death-warrants of Romish priests and 
laymen who, in the Royal estimation, were more worthy of 
honour than of execution. 

The father of Charles II. was foolish enough to marry % 
Roman Catholic wife, the Princess Henrietta Maria of France. 
Before leaving her home for England she promised the King 
of France; — ^^I wilt make no selection of persons to bring 
up and serve the children who may be born, except from 
Catholics; I will only give the charge of choosing these 
officers to CatholioSi obliging them to take none but those 
of the same religion." To the Pope she wrote promising: — 
"I will not choose any but Catholics to nurse or educate 
the children who ahall be born, or do any other senrice to 
them.'^ ^ The Pope, on his part, plainly told her th^t her 



I 



[ 



LeiUrt v/ i^wn Henri^U* Uwrim, pp, 8, «. 



CRlRLtB SEEKS ESLF PBOU THS FOPE 



219 



mission in England was to procure in tbat land the reign 
of Popery. By the articles of marriage it was proTided that 
" The children vhich shall by reason of the said inter- 
marriage be born and live, shall be nursed and brought up 
near unto the said lady and Queen, from the time of their 
birth nntil they come to the age of fourteen years." * Father 
Cyprien De Garaache, who beeame Father Confessor to Queen 
Henrietta Maria in England, says that one of the most im- 
portant articles of the marriage wa!» that ** the children bom 
of it should be brought up and instructed in the Catholic^ 
Apoatolic, and Boman religion till the age of fourteen or 
fifteen years." ' 

Although Charles L tried to evade his engagements as to 
the early religtous education of his children as far as posa- 
ible^ hia wife seems, on the whole, to have had things mainly 
in her own way. She was a devoted daughter of the Church 
of Rome, and laboured to her utmost to promote its interests. 
The wonder is that any of her children escaped, especially 
the Dnke of Gloucester who, when he was in Paris daring 
the Commonwealth period, was very much persecuted by hia 
mother because he would not become a Kom&n Catholic. 
The evil result's of mixed marriages between Protestants and 
Roman Catholics are clearly seen in the case of Charles L 
Under euch influences it is not to be wondered at tbat 
Charles II. in early life learned to love the Church of Rome, 
wbo»e interests he served throughout his career. 

Soon after his father's execution Charles II. began to 
negotiate with the Pope and several Roman Catholic Sover- 
eigns, seeking their help to upset the power of Cromwell, 
and to place himself on the Throne of the United Kingdom* 
Evidence of tliis may be found in abundance in the Clarendon 
SiaU Papers. For instance, Mr. Robert Meynell was aent 
to Rome in the autumn of 1649, with special instructions 
firom Charles. He obtained an audience with the Pope, in 

( A Mrfvi»U 9f tk^ U/e &/ WUtUm lamd. Bf WiUUin PiyoM, p* 71. 
■ Tk9 Court and iHm^ <rf CkarUi tk$ Ftrti, to), il, ^ SOft. 



320 



THE JESUITS nH OUIT BBITAin 



which he promised in the name of Charles all favour to 
his Roman Catholic subjecte, to receive aflectionatelj the 
Fope^s Nuncia in England, and eren to make the Pope 
arbitr ato r b e»t ween him and h is Roman Cath olic mihj ects, 
provided the Pope would, on hia part, help to place him 
upon the Throne, The Pope was alL cirilitj to Mr. Hejnell^ 
whose miaaion was supported by sereral Roman Catholic 
prieaU then residing in Rome; but nothing practical came 
of itf owing to the jealonsj and dintrast of the Pope, who 
had heard^ meanwhile, about Charlea' tiegotiatiuns with 
Scotland, and his willingness to support the Presbyterian 
religion in Scotland, provided the Scots made him actual 
King of their country. Lord Cottinp'ton and Sir Edward 
Hyde (afterwards Earl of Clarendon) were sent a few months 
later on a mission to Spain^ with secret inatnictions signed 
by Charles himself. "You shall," he said to them, '^* assure 
his Catholic Majesty of our full resolution of grace and 
favour towards the Catholics of our several dominions; and 
that we are so far frotn an inclination to be severa against 
them, that we resolre to give them our utmost protection 
from the severity of those laws which have been made to 
their prejudice, but to endeavour effectually the repeal of 
those lawB ; which, if his Catholic Majesty shall at present 
eminently assist us, we have reason to believe we shall 
easily do/^ The Ambassadora were to ask from the King 
of Spain a loan of money, and he instructed them to be 
particularly polite to the Pope^s repreeentatiTe at the Spani&h 
Court, and to maintain the strictest secrecy as to tiieir 
mission* '^You shall/' said Charles, *"* perform all such 
compliments and civilities, as you shall judge conducing to 
our service, with the Pope's Nuncio, or any other Hininter 
of his, and hold such correspondence, and make such 
addresses to Rome, as may incline the Pope to give us his 
assistance in this our distress.^' ' 



I 



I 



^ C^indoti Si^ Ft^^w, wl. 



481. 



BMRBT BEG0TUTIDK3 AT BOME 



221 



Otber efibrU to sectu-e the aid of the Pope were mitde 
bj Charles. In SVm*!-*"' Tracts^ toL xiii^ pp. 401— 414 
(Edition 1752), there is reprinted * pamphlet which was 
first published in 1650, bearing the title of '*Tbe King of 
ScoUaud^s Negotiations ^t Rome, for assistance against the 
Commonwealth of Eoglaad, in eertain Propoaiiions there made^ 
foti and on his behalf; in which Propositions hia Affection 
and DispoBitiona to Popery is Asserted/^ The introductory 
preface to this pamphlet states that ^* an Irish priest, wiiose 
name is Oalie, who is Confessor to the Queen of Portugal, 
is now at Rome by the cuinmand of the King of Scotland 
[the title then giTen to Charles II.] ; that he came by the 
way of France, and spake there with the Queen of Scot- 
land's mother; and received her directions; that he is at 
Rome, and presseth and putss forward the said Propositiorks 
Tery hotly," It i^ also stated in the same preface, that 
** one lioe, an Irishman, and Provincial of the Discalced 
Carmelites of Ireland, was lately at Paris in his return from 
Rome, and did avow those Propositions were given in to 
the Pope, and they were referred to a Congregation of 
Cardinab/* These statements as to Daly (which is the 
correct w^ay to spell his name) and Roe, are proved to be 
true by the Clarendon State Papers, now preaerred in the 
BodJelan Library, Oxford. Robert Meynell, writing bom 
Rome, June 24, 1650, to Cottington and Hyde, remarks: — 
'* Daniel O'Daly, an Irish Dominican, has come to Rome 
with a commission from the Queen [i.p*, the mother of Charles 
II.] to treat with the Pope; be was formerly at Lisbon, 
where he did many good offices for the late King ; was with 
the present King [Charles U.] at Jersey, and came from him 
extremely satisfied. * Writing again from Rome to Cottington^ 
on July 31st, Meynell announces that: *'Th€ reason of 
Father Rowe's sudden departure from Rome is believed to 
be the enclosed letter/*' There can, therefore, be no doubt 



1 Uifl, p. 70, 



v«t, ii.» p. A6. 



222 



THE JESi7ITS Rt Oft&AT BftlTAlM 



that both these priests, O'Dalj and Rows (whoeo name is 
sometimes spoilt Roe), were together at Rome in the earlj 
HUmmer of 1650, seeking the assistance of the Pope on be- 
half of Charles. And what were the "Propositions'' which 
they were empowered to present to the Pontiff, on heh&lf of 
Charles, and with the sanction of his mother, Queen Hen- 
rietta Maris? In the document presented in bis name to 
Pope Innocent X,, Chsfles boasts that he, even ^^ while his 
father yet lived, was kuown to have good and true natural 
inclinations to the Catholic faifch/' and he enumeratea sereral 
acts of his in farour of the English and Irish Homaniste, 
in proof of his assertion. He then proceeds to denounce 
the conduct of the supporters of Ohrer Cromwell, whom he 
terms ** Regicides," and sneers at *' the Coyenant with God^ 
aa they call it/* He^ therefore, makes to the Pope the 
following *' Propositions *' :■ — 



I 

I 



"L Th»t jour Halinew would make an annual supply out of 
your own TrenFury unto the eaid Cbarlefl IL, of considerabie Buma 
of money, suitable to the luainUiain^ the war against iho«e rebels 
[Oromwelii&Dfl] againsi God, the Church, and Monarchy, 

**% That you would cause and compel th« whole beneficed 
Olergj in the world, of whatsoever dijoiHy, decree, state, or condi- 
tion Boever, to contribute the third or tho fou*-lb part of all thett 
fruita, rentSf revenueii, or emolutiienc^ lo th« aaid war, aa beiag 
QnivGTflal and Catholic. And that the aaid contribution may be 
paid every three mouths or otherwise^ as ahall aeem most ezpedleal 
to your Holiness* 

'*3* That by your Apostolic Nuncioe, your Hollueaa would mo«t 
iQBtantly endeavour with all Princes, Commonwealth, and Catholic 
States, that Uie said Priiice«, CommotiwealthB and States may be 
admonished in th« bowela of Jeaua GhriHt, and induced to enter 
into, and concLude an uiiiirer»al |>eftce; and that they will unitedly 
■upply the aaid Kin};;. And that th^y will by no meana acknow^ 
leiiRO the said regicides aud tyrants for a Commonwealth, or State, 
nor eut^r iaio, or have any comniBroe with them. 

"4- Thai by the eaid Nuncios, or any other way. all and every 
the Monarch^ of all l!!uf ope may be timely admoniahed, and made 
eensible in tbia cause; wherein besides the detriiuent of the faith, 
their own proper interest !■ concerned. » , , 

"5. That your Holinesfl would command, under pain of excom- 
munication, ipse /aci4>^ all and aingular Catholica, that neither they 
nor any of them, directly nor indirectly, by land or by eea, do 
Berye thein [GromweHlansJ in anna, or aseist them by anyoounflel 



I 



CBIBLES PEOFOBITIONfi TO THS POPK 



223 



or belp, to favour or aupply (hem ftoy wny under whatsoever 
pretext." * 

The author of Th^ Sseret History of the Eet^ns of Charles IL 
and Jarnss IL, published in 16^^0, says that the Jocument 
just quoted '*was once printer! in WhMotrk's Memoirs; but 
upon the considerations of the danger that n^ght ensue 
upon divulging it at that time to the world, [it] was torn 
out of the book/' ' These Propositions, fortunately for the 
peace of Englftnd, were not accepted by Innocent X. The 
negotiations with the Vatican were a failure, Meynell (wlio, 
as we have seen, wa:^ also an agent of Charles at Rome) 
wrote on July 3Ut to Cottington, that: "A flat answer 
has now been given to him more than once, as well as to 
Father Daniel 0*Daly, from the Pope, that he cannot at 
all meddle in the business. The main motire is, that the 
Pope will not be drawn to part with money, but the fear 
of the King'^s being in the hands of the Presbyterians is 
pretended as the main remora^ and all the assurances of his 
inclinations to favour Catholics are accounted mere shadows/' * 

Wliile these negotiations were going on iu Rome and 
Madrid, Charles was also, at the very moment, enguged 
in negotiations with the Presbyterians of Scotland. The 
Parliament of Scotland oSered him the Crown of Scotland 
at once, provided he would Bwear to the Solemn League 
and Covenant, and thus in the most unmistakable manner 
repudiate both Popery and Prelacy, It was a bitter pill 
to swallow, but he waa equal to the taak. Father Cjprien 
De Gamache, who, from his position aa Confeasor to Charles^ 
mother, was well acquainted with all that wa-s going on in 
Boyal circles at that time, ^aya that, ''The bad state of his 
Affairs obliged him [Charles] to smother his just reaentment, 
and to use towards these dissembling people [the Scotch] a 
very ingemoua and necessary dissimilation* He complied, there- 

* Lord SoMFT^M Tr4eU, vtJ, liii., p. 410. 

■ Sttrrf Riiterf u/ iktf Etigiu of CharUa IL snd Jmm*i //.. p, 11. 

* Cmigndmr of Ctunrndom SimU faptrt^ voi. ii,, |j. 70* 



224 



TEI JKSUITS IH QKtkT BRlTliH 



fore, wrtli their humour, relioquighed that majeetic haughti- 
ness which accompanies Kojaltj, exhibiting to them nothing 
but an ag^reeable insinuating familiarity, which won theiD^ 
and induced them lo take up liia defence, hia cause, and his 
eatablishmentf to begin with. Thej made him a great 
number of proposals, tJemanding several things which he 
granted with a ^ood grace." ' 

Having agreed to everything the sturdy but too creduloos 
Scotch Protestants demanded, the Royal hypocrite, without 
watting to leara the reiiulta ot his negotiationa with Rome, 
landed in Scotland on the 3rd of July, 1650. Before he 
stepped on ahore he signed the Solemn League and Covenant, 
By this act he Bwore, with hia "hands lifted up to the Most 
High God/' that he would *' endeavour the extirpation of 
Popery and Prelacy,^' although, as we have seen, at the 
same time he was engaged at Rome in an effort to re-establish 
both, in their woi'st formB^ in his domtniona ! On NdW 
Year's Day, 1651, he waa crowned King, and perjured him- 
self again by taking the following Oath, which, it i& not 
uncharitable to say, he never intended to keep: 

*'lf Charlftfl, Kini; of Great Britain, France and Ireland, do aasure 

and declare by my solemn oatb, in the presence of Almighty God^ 
the searcher pf aJl he^rtA, my allowance and approbation of the 
National C-ovenant, and of the SiJemn League and Coveaaol; and 
^itbfuily obLig-e myself to prosecute the enda Uiereof in my station 
and calling; and thrt-t I ntyeelf, and Bucce^(>ra, thaW consent aod 
a^ree to aU the Acta of Farhament «snjoinii)g the If aUonal Covenant 
and the ^ulenin I^^ea^ue and Covennnt, and Tully Mtabli^h. Presby- 
terian GoTernmopt, the Dire<it<iry of Wonship, Confeseion of Faiths 
and Catecbismii in the Xingdom of Scotland, as tbey are approved 
by the General Assembly of this Kirk, and Parlifiment of tbie 
Kini^dom; and that I will pve my Royal aaaent to all Acte of 
FarUan^ent pA^»cd» or to be passed, enjoininf; tha eame in my 
other dominians; iJvA. that I ehalL observe tbeee in mj Ovm prao- 
tice and family^ and shall never make oppoiition to anyoftheae, 
or endeavour any change thereof,** * 

Afler his escape from the Battle of Worcester, in 1651, 
Charles was hid for a time at Moseley Court, of which Father 

1 TAi CohH aikd Time* «/ Ckath$ tkM Ftrii, tuL ii.« p. A8S. 
» Nwil'i Huiorf 0/ ike Fw^U^m, toI ii.. p. iOS. 



I 



CHABI'Cfi BTUnrKS l{<)MfSH ^OOICB 



225 



John Hmidleslon, O.S.B., was then Chaplain. The King 
liitld dreamt that hd was then in the presence of the priest 
who was destined to administer to him on his death-bed the 
last Sacraments of the Church of Rome* Mr, Foley reprints, 
15 his Becord^ of the English Province^ S.J.^ an account 
relating the marvellous escapes of Charlesj after the Battle 
of Worcester, While at Moseley *^he was pleased/' so ve 
read, "to inquire how Kotnan Catholics lived under the 
present usurped Goverimient Mr. Uuddleston told him they 
were persecuted on account both of their religion and loyalty, 
yet hia Majesty should see they did not neglect the dutiea 
of their Church, Hereupon he carried him upstairs, and 
showed him the chapel, little, but neat and decent. The 
Kinj^, looking re.spectfuljy upon the altar, and regarding the 
CrQcittr and CHndiesticks upon it, bald: *IJe had an altar, 
Cnicifix, and candlesticks of his own, till my Lord of HoUand 
brake them^ which [added the Kin^J he hath now paid for.' 
His Majesty likewise spent some time in perusing Mr. Huddle- 
ston'a books, amonji^st which, attentively readmga ahort manu- 
script written by Mr. Richard Hud<!IestQn, a Benedictine 
Monk, entitled, ' A Short and Plain Way to the Faith und 
Church,^ he expressed his sentiments of it in these positive 
words: * I have not seen anything more plain and clear 
upon this subject. The argumunta here drawn from succes- 
sion are so conclusivef I do not conceive how they can be 
denied-' He alwo took a view of Mr Tuberviile^.s Catechism, 
and aaid it was a pretty book, and he would take it along 
with bira." ' 

After many stirring adventures Charles at length arrived 
safely in France, His earnest desires to become King of Great 
Britain and Ireland induced him to lose not a moment in 
seeking such aid as would enable him to secure the realiaft- 
tfon of his ambitions. He knew full well that it was useless 
to apply to the Protestants of the Continent, who mucb 



1 Foley*! M^e^jg «/ StiflUk I'fvmmt^, SJ. voK t., p. 446. 



}fi 



226 THE JESUITS lit QKEAT BEITAIlt 

preferred ft Cromwell at the head of Eoglish affairs. His 
onlj hope, therefore, was in the Roman Catholic powers. 
From thi« time until liis return to England in 1660 Charles 
appears to have secretly eniplojed ageuts at Rome, working 
in his interest Lord Clarendon (then Sir Edward Uyde) 
had ftt this time a correspondent residing at Rome to whom 
he frequently wrote, but whose real name iu not even vet 
known with certainty- He was simply known as " Mr. Cle- 
ment." To him Hyde wrote on April 2nd, 1656, telling 
him that Charles, on his arrival in France, after the battle of 
Worcester, wrote a letter to the Pope, which was deliTered 
by the General of the AugnstioiaDB, asking for asststaBce. 
"The Pope liked very well the expresaiona" conveyed in 
the letter, "but would have a certain time prefixed, when 
the King would declare himself a Catholic," * and intimated 
that he could not give assistftnce to an heretic Prince. In 
1652 Cardinal Ue Hetz urged Charles to allow him to apply 
to the Pope on his behalf; and this would no doubt have 
been done, were it not tb:it directly after the proposal bad 
been made the Cardinal was arrested and sent to the Bastille* 
£arly in 1655 Lord Jermyn, who is supposed to have been 
married to the widow of Charles L, wrote to Charles U,, to 
tell him that his mother was about to ^nd a special 
messenger to the Pope, and offering his services with the 
Pope in the interest of her son, as more likely to succeed 
than if he were to send a messenger of his own. 

I have no doubt, that, even at this early period in his 
life, Charleses judgment approved the doctrines of the Church 
of Rome, though he had not yet been formally received 
into communion with that Church. It was not long aiter 
his arrival in France when it began to be rumoured that 
he had actually seceded to Rome. I do not think he had 
seceded at that time, for reasons to be explained further 
on. Bishop Burnet^a account of Charleses alleged reception 



seCftKT ^IBQOTEATlORS WITH arAis 



227 



into the Church of Rome will be read with interest. He 
writes: — '* Before King Charles left Paris he changed hiB 
religion, but by whose perauaaion is not yet known : only 
Cardinal rie Retz was in the secret, and Lord Aubigny had 
a great hand in it- It wa.s kept a great secret. Chancellor 
Hyde had some suspicion of it, but would never suffer him- 
self to believe it quite. Soon after the Eestoration, tb&t 
Cardinal came orer in disguise, and had an audience with 
the King: what passed is not known. The first ground I 
had to believe it was this : the Marquia de Roucy, who was 
the man of the greatest family in France that continued 
Protestant to the last, was much pressed by that Cardinal 
to change his religion : he was his kinsman and his parti^ 
cular friend. Among other reasoas one that he urged was 
that the Protestant religion must certainly be ruined, and 
that they could expect no protection from England, for to 
his certain knowledge both the Princes were already changed* 
Roucy told this in great confidence to his Minister^ who 
after \uB death sent an advertisement of it to myself. Sir 
Alien Broderick, a great confident of the Chancellor's, who, 
from being atheistical became in the last years of his life 
an eminent penitent, as he was a man of great parta, with 
whom I had lived long in great confidence, on his death- 
bed sent me likewise an account of this matter, which he 
believed was done in Fontainebleau, before Sing Charles 
w«a sent to Colen/' * 

Towards the close of the year, 1655, the Jesuits were 
actively engaged in seeking help for Charles, to restore him 
to the Throne of England. The leader in these negotiations 
was the well-known Jesuit, Father Peter Talbot, subsequently 
titular " Archbishop of Dublin,'^ He was particularly anxious 
for help, in money and men, from Spain. The Spanish King 
and Government were quite willing to grant the needed 
assistance, but were unwilling to do so unlesa Charles 



i BufBftt, BUi^Tf '*/ Bi* (hfit Tim*, Tol. i.. p. 126. Oxford. l*flS. 



228 



THE JBBFtTS IN GKIAT KKITAI^^ 



became a Roman Catholic. The Jesuit Father, elated with 
the prospects of success, wrote a long letter to the KingJ 
dated Anvers, December 24th, 1655, urging him to ht>cotueJ 

^^gecreil^'*^ a Honiaii Catholic, from which letter I take thei 
foUowiug extracts; — 

"May rr flkase Your Majesty. 

**Mr* Harding bAth asaured me tlial he delivered my latt letter 
unto your MftjeatVj wherein 1 ftdverttaed yo« of what I thought 
to be niy duty; una thoug^h your Majesty Beemeth to tak^ no notice 
of that, nor of former letters^ yet 1 will write thic one more^ the 
matter bein^ of high eoncernmentj and the opportunity onoe lei, 
slip, hardly ever recovered. It importa your Majesty most of any 
to kefp sf^et what fotlowgthj atid to cojutilt none but God; therefore 
I writ© in cypher, which will come to your Ma]«ety*8 bands by 
Another way. 8axby was desired by Count Fuenaalda^na to telt 
what propoailiona ho liad to Father Tnlbot, that Father Talbot 
might deliver them in writing to Count Fueneialdagna; some thinp 
there were prejudicial to the King, though riotnani'ed in particular; 
yet advantageous at the present for the King of 9pAiii» >^ Don 
Alonio and Coiml Fuen>»ftldagiia conceived. Father Talbot desired 
them both to reflect upon the evil con^equeuces of C-ommonwealth 
and Parliaments They answered all wae considered, and veiy 
good deaireft there were tn the Council of Spain to help the Kin^^^ 
but that at present one only way could enable them to help him; 
and tliat was, thai the King thoutd renounce the French faction, and 

BKOOME A EOMAX CATHOLIC, YBT eo &ECRKTLY, THAT KO UTIKG 

OKEATtiR£ fiHouu) KNOW OF IT. but Couut Fuensaldagna* Don Alonxo, 

the Arohduko and Fatlier Talbot, or any other whom the King 

would name; and in all things proceed as the Qneen of Sweden dial 

'*For all hi$ life, if it 6« not hig int^esi, not to declare, asid rp 

THE £K:CRET be DURING THE KlNG^fi lAFK DieOOVERED, THXT ARJ£ COW' 

TKST TO LOSE THFiR HEADS. Father Talbot desired to know what 
might that avail the Kin^? They answered that Urn Kimg of Spam 
afid the Pope uill engage iktTnaeh^ to gH Aim all kia onm a^mf^; 
mm] that very suddenly by the Fow^t ooU»iM»i*o/f»cn»#y and other 
ways under divers pretext*, , . if m [the King] retohe !o bfi a Rofti^m 
Ciiiholic privaUly as eooii as he comes, let him in God^e name come 
suddenly, but as incognito as if he were in England, for jealousies 
of Saxby and the StateJS of Hollands On© shall be despaiched 
immediately to the King of Spain and Don LewiSf another to tki 
Fope^ and infallibly (by God's assistance) the Kiug^a business shall 
be done befi^re it be six months... Father Talbot urged that thie 
King mi^ht come to BrufseU, without desiring him to be a Roman 
C£ilh<:)ljc, privately; but Count Fuensaldagna is much agaiost hi» 
coming u[>on any other score j yet he ia moat eameat for it upon 
this, because he knows how profitable this will be for the King of 
England, and the King of Spain* I deaire your Haj^ty not to 
let slip this opportunity; though you live a hundred years there 
will never concur such circumstancee to your advantage. Remember, 



I 



I 



1 



THE JEBVIT TALIVira DlSORAOKPUL LETTER 



229 



Sir, that three kingdoms ie worth & journey; Either Talbot tftkea 
upon LklmBeir all the dantrer, therd can be nouQ in tliitL pArticular, 
he f^avs. .. The l»i«t worda Ccmnt FueHaji.lJii;:iia nnd Don Alon^o 
U>ld FatSier Tidbot wt^re these:— 'Tell the Kini^ of England that 
he shnll Gtul among us f^^ecy, lumour &nd renl dealing; H.nd adjure 
hitu tbsvi a lie wiil do what we dei^ire^ we will live nuddie toi^ether; 
let bjm nmke no cajntulfltions^ lor tlmt will \w. auspiciotia; the 
ffKtre he imMi the King of Spent* and the Pope tfir better it is.' , « . 
But ieere^ it tha life of aU, — it aUaU b« ktipt ou ibia aide, let the 
King of Englfind keep his own* *'P. T," ' 

Tbree weeks later the Jesuit Talbot wrote again to the 
King, as to instruction to be given bim in the Roman Catholic 
faith ; — " It was never thought, and much less said, that your 
Majesty was of any other relifrion than of that which you 
profess; yet it was believed, and must be sttil as an article 
of our faith, that ouly want of information can alienate a 
person of your Majesty's great wit and judgment from our 
communion ; and truJy I did, and do always suppose, that a 
Tery short tiine is sufficient to inform one wbo hath bo much 
knowledge betofehand as your Majesty. This confidence, or 
rather belief, can be no greater crime than the other articles 
of our faith; therefore I can as little crave pardon for it, 
aa for professing myself a Catiiolic/^ * 

Probably a more disgraceful letter than Talbot^i», of Decem- 
ber 24th, was never penned by a professedly Christian Minis- 
ter. Coldly, and deliberately^ he proposes to the King that 
the whole of his future life should be an acted lie; that, 
outwardly, and to the whole world, he should profess him- 
self to be a Protestant, while in reality he sliould be a traitor 
to the faith he publicly professed ! Talbot wrote several 
times to the King on the eubjecL At last his efforts were 
rewarded with success; and he had the privilege of htmBelf 
formally receiving the King into communion with the Church 
of Rome, The story of his reception ie thus related by the 
Ii«v. Laurence Renebam, D D., who from 1815 to 1857 was 
President of Maynooth College. 

^ CiamdtfM Stott Paptft, yoI. iit,, pp. 280-SS3. 



230 



TBi JSSaira LK GREAT BEltAltf 



''Charles IL,'* writes Dr* R^nehan, *'flcd lo F&rif, whence he-^ 
removed to Cologne in July, T666, after the couchiflioD of th«< 
treaty botwepn the French Court and Cromwell. Hia Majeety aow 
turned hU thoughu on en^ngin^ the Spanish Court to oAaist iu 
bis reetomtion, Talbot p08»e«<iEM:t a ^eat deal of influence with 
many of the 8pfttiiah Minisltjru m FlAtidcra, aud particularly with 
the Count de Fouaalda^na, who at that time w&s the actual 
Governor of the country, though the Archduke I^opold ettjayetl 
the title. Hib old and special lutituacy wiLh Father Daniel Daly, 
aiioi Doniiniek & Ro&ftrio, a native of Kerry, and then the Atu- 
ha^sador of the Kin^ of Portug».l nt the Court of Kranee* beddea 
the vcut pouf^ and infiu^^^ of the Society to whu^h he belonged 
\i,e. the Jeetuit Order] enahled Talbot to be of iQcaleulable 
service lo Charles in the days of bis dietress. He freq^uently 
visited hia M:t^jesty at Coh^^ne, &nd waa Always honoured with the 
most grAoiourt and friendly reoeption* Conversntion, afler some 
acquaintance, often turned on the respective merits of the CaxhoUc 
and Protestant retigion. Tf the Kiivj; was willing to leani* Talbot w&fl 
able and wiLlin;; U) teiich r iind ao deep wa« the imprecision made on 
the conBcit?nce of Hia Majesty, that after a 9ecrel eonffrenoe of 
AOme days, he at length ^iiut himself up trith our profeaeor [Talbot] 
in his closet for several days till hia cniiviction waa fully completed, 
and every doubt removed from hia mind. Charles, however^ was 
not A man who would forfeit a Crowa to follow hia convictions. 
He knew how much the En^li^li mind wa» maddened by the 
spirit of Lii^olry af^ainat the Catholic Church, he knew the cbara<^ter 
of Ormond and the others that etirroytided hta person, be probably 
eaw that tUcee eAlculatlng Koyalists might believe that thija cou- 
veraion would mnr Ibeir projecte for the eeltlement and paz^ition 
of Ireland: and lit- Ih^efote determined to be recewed ifit4> Ih^ towm 
of Uie Cnihalic Church eu tecreily fUt pombkt and afterwafda, and 
tnen only, to absent hiuigelf from Proteetant Cotnnmuion, but to 
make nn declariition of hi» religious opinians. Taibot had ihm 
the pUa^ire to witrifAM Am aoletun renufuHati&n of the error* of Prfh 
teitantiam* and to rec^ve A*w, a/t^r a fonanl profewion of faHh^ 
ijiio thf. Catholie Churehf and no doidtt to adminitier to hivt the 
holy ittcrawentti, 

*' King Charles, soon after hia conversion in 1655 or *56| deepatehed 
Father P, Talbot on ai) Emhaatiy to tiie Court of SpaiD. The 
purport of thia Embassy was atudioualy concealed from hia 
Protestant Ministera^ and hence some of them siisp}ected that 
among other thtnga, Talbot waia authorised to coiumuuicate to 
Philip IV, the fact of CharW reconciliation to the Catholic 
Church/' 1 



( 



I 



1 



The date of Charles^ secret reception into the Church of 
Rome, as given by Dr. Reneban, is ** 16S5 or *56." I 
have no doubt that this story is reliable. There is an- 



^ Reaehhii*! ColUctum <m Iritk CAnreA HitUtry, pp. SQSp SOS. 



CAttTBS ACCODlfT OP CHiftLKS SEC£3afON TO POPRRT 



231 



other Tersian of the amue storj to be read Id Cartels Life 
of Ormmd, whicli confirms tlie accuracy of what Dr. 
Renehan states. The Duke of Ormond was one of the 
most trusted counsellors of CharlcB II. during: his stay on 
the Continent previous to his Restoration. The Duke, 
though thoroughly loyal to the King, was, unlilce some 
other of his counsellors, also true to the Prote.^tant faith. 
After fitatmg that, in 105tJ, Cliarlea II. of England waa 
anxioim to enter into a treaty with the Court of Spain, 
LCarte relates that : — 



*' Either a slowneas tiattiml to that Courts and observed in all 
tbeir counacla and proceedings, or aoiue other roiLson, cfiused a 
great delay in the Treaty wliich hia Maje^^ty waF» deHirgiifl to con- 
clude witti the King of ^patn. It wax oq thiu occasion sugg^ted 
by Bonian Catholics to tbo King, tliat the dibtoriDeaa of that Court 
arOEie from their aversion lo enter into uny league with a Prince 
of a different roiigion: and that if he would Biifler the DuLe of 
Olouceatcrf or, if he could be persuadeil himself, to make profen- 
sion of their relififton. it would be a vii^t advantni^e to hie aSAtre. 
The luiHchiefa that would ariae from the Kiiig'^f open profesflioii 
were bo very K^'eal, and so very evident, that Mr* Walainpham and 
the 2no^ zealoui of that |>nny could not but acknowledge the 
da[]}i;er of &uch a step^ hihI vet it being as certain that the Pope 
and Roman Catholic PriiiceH of Europe ivould not assist hia 
Majciity as loo^ a« ho continued of a diflerent Communion* it 
was proposed ae an ejci)edient that he should be trorttly reconciled 
to ike Church of JlofFie, This wils flupposed to be done about this 
time; for Ftithur Peter TaUtot waa very often shut up with him 
in hia closet at Cologne, where they had many private conferences 
together, and in consofjuence thereof he was deaoatched in the 
spnoK of thiB year to Madrid on a very aecret anair, which not 
being communicated to the Council, w^ imagined to be to impart 
to bifl Catholic Majet^ty the King's aasent to the Roman CathoUo 
relifrion. ' 

Carte adda that " Th*^ King had oarefuUy concealed that change 
[of religion] from the Duke of Orniond, who yet discovered it by 
accident. The Duke had eome suapioiona of it from the time 
that they removed from Cologne to Flanders, for though he never 
observed that zeal and concern as to dhine things which he often 
wished in the King, yet i^o nanch as appeared in htm atanytime 
looked that way. However, he thought it bo very little that he 
hoped it would aoon wear off upon returning? to hii Kinpdoms, 
and wae not fully conviuced of hig change till about the lime the 
Treaty of the Pyrenees was going to be opened. The Dtike was 
always a very early riaer, and being then at Bruasels, used to amuse 

* Carta'* £«/> 0/ Ormamd, vol. iii., pp. a5£, eS3. Ifiditiott U^L 



232 



Tire JftSUtTS in Oli£AT BRtTAIN 



bimsedf, ftt limea thai Dth«rH were io bed, in WfiJkinft ^botit the 
town^ Atid geeit^tc tiie chitrche^. Going one morning very early 
by A cbtircb, where a greftt number of people wer# at their de- 
votions, he fiU^pp^d in, uml ailtftticing near Ibe alUr, ha acMP CA« 
JfTtn^ on his KTwts at M(im, Wq rendily ima^inM hift H&jesty 
would not be pleused tb&t lie sliouJd eec liim tliere, nnd therefore 
retired aa cautiously a« he (snuld, went to a di^ereat part of ihe 
CbuTcb near another altar wbere (jitbody whs. kneeled down aod 
said hU own pray em, till the King woa gone. Borne djiya after- 
warda Sir Henry Bennet came to hira» and told bia Grace that 
the King's obsUna^^y in not de<')itrjn£ hiniBelf a Roman Catholic 
put tbem to f^at difficnltieg; th^t ilie KingB of France and Spain 
prei^sed him mightily to it, and their Ambaa^adora eolicited it 
daily, with a^urancea ibal if be would make that public decLa- 
ratioQ, they would both aeaist him jointly, with all their powers, 
to puL him on tbe Throne of En^'land' tike a Kinf; ; blmt be 
and others bad urged thii* and endenvonrod to persuade him 
to declare binibelf, but atl in vain; that it wouM ruin bis adairs 
if he did Dot do it, and be^ed of tbe Duke of Ornioad to join in 
peranadlng him to declare biraaelf. The Duke said he could never 
attempt to ixsrsuade hia Majesty to act tlie hypocritp, and declare 
himself what he was not in reality. 8tr Henry therexipon replied 
that the Kiii>< had certainly profe^tied himaelf a Roman Catholic^ 
and wa« a renl convert, only he Muck at the declaring him&elfao 
t^p^nly. The Duke of Orniond answered ho was very sorry for it, 
but he could not meddle in the matter; for tbe KitiK* having never 
made a confidence of it to hin^, would not be pleaaed with hii 
knowledge of the chftc^^e he had made; and for his own part he 
waa resolved never to take any notice of it to hie Majesty, till he 
him»elf liret made him tiie discovery. Some timea/lerwardsp George, 
'Baal of Bristol, camo to tbe Duke, complaining of the folly and 
modDeaa of Bennet and others about the K^ing, who werelabourini? 
to peieuade him to what would absolutely ruin his aflfairt^. The 
Dufe askijiR what it waa, the other replietl that it waa to >;tn tbe 
King to declare himttelf a Koman Catholic^ which, ifoncehedid^ 
Ihey should be all undone, and therefore desired bis Grace'i^ assiat- 
anoa to prevent ao fatal a step. The Duke of Ormond ^id it wa^ 
yerj strange that anyone ahouM have the oa^urauce to persuade 
hia Kajeaty to declare himself what he was not, ei^pecially Id a 
point ot 00 great consequence. Bristol answered, that was not tbe 
caae, for the King waa really a Roman Catholic, but tbe d^darinij 
himself bo would min his affairs in Kngland, 'And a« for the 
mighty prombea of asaisiance from Frnnee and Spain, yon, my 
Lord, and I, know very well that there la no dependence or atresfl 
to he laid on them, and that they would give more to get otie 
frontier g;arriaon into their haudSr than to ^et the Catholic relif^on 
established, not only in England, but over all Europe ; * and then 
det^ired hi» Grace to join in diverting the King from any thoughts 
of declaring himself in a point which would certainly destroy his 
interest in England for ever, and yet not do him the leo^t Kervice 
abroad. The Duke allowed that the Earl of Bristol judjired very 
rightly in tbe case; but excused himself from meddling in the 
matter, because the King had kept his conversion as a secret from^ 



I 



I 



LOBD BAtrTAt ON HtARLES SSCKRT SKCES3!0«? 



233 



hitti* and it w&a by no meana proper for bim to ebow that ht; bitd 
TOfttle ibe discovery." *■ 



■t 



Clarendon must, I think, have known reiy well that the 

ing had been received into the Church of Ronu^ while on 
the Continent. Uis intimate acquaintance with his Majesty, 
and with all who were about bis person for aevenil yearst 
WAS of such a character^ that a secret which was known to 
the Protestant Duke of Ormonde, Sir Henry Beanet^ and the 
Earl of Bristol, could scarcely bare been withheld from him. 
On the 1st of May, 1656, Clarendon wrote to the King tellinff 
him about rumours which had been circulated, to the effect 
that he had become a Ronaan Catholic: — *'lf you understand 
Dutch/* he wrote, **you will find a very worthy mention of 
you in the last Dturmjl printed at the Hague, of your chang- 
ing your religion, and some other particulars not crowded 
in by chance; it shall go hard but I will discover by what 
villainy those scandals are published." ' And on the same 
day Clarendon wrote to the Duke of Ormonde on the same 
subject: — "The d— prints at the Ua^ue of the Kind's bein^ 
turned Papist shows how necessary it ia that Dr. Earle be 
with hira." * Clarendon was an active party in aever&l of 
the negotiations to obtain help for Charles from the Pope. 

The first Marquis of Halifax, who held high office in the 
Government under Charles 11, says that he had no doubt 
whatever as to the King^s secret reception into the Church ol' 
Rome while abroad. Ue remarks that: 

^'The Government of France did not think it advisable 
to discover it openly, upon which euth obvious reflections 
may he made that I will not mention them. Such a secret 
can never be put into a place which is ao closely stopped 
that there shall be no chinks* Whispers went about; 
particular men had intimations; Cromwell had his advertiae- 
tnents in other things, and this was as wt^U worth his 



* Cftrte't li/* 0/ OrmtmJ, vol. iv., pp. 10ft — 111. 

* Ci^mdim SUU Vaf^i, vu]. iti.^ p. SOS. 

' (hUmfar of i'l*r*nd0>t SltUt J*ft*rt, toL Hi . p. 



111. 



234 



THK JESmTB IN QUKhT BRJTAlM 



I 



pajing lor. There was enough said of it to fitartte a gr^at 
many, though not oniversallj diffused ; &o much, that if the 
Government here hnd not crumbled of itself, Itis right alone^ 
with that and other clogs upon It, ^ould hardlj have thrown 
it down. I conclude thai when he came into England he 
was as certaialj a Eoman Catholic as that he was a man 
of pleasure, both very consistent hj visible experience. . * . 
Hia uiiwiUingnees to marry a Prote&tant was retuarkablei 
though both the Catholic and the Christian Crown would 
have adopted hen Very early in his youth, when any 
German Princess was jtroposed, he put o& the discourBe 
with raillery, A thousand little circumstances were a kind 
of accumulative evideiice, which in these cases may he 
admitted. Men that were earnest Protestants were under 
the dharpness of hiB displeasure, expressed bj raillery as 
well aa by other ways* Men near him have made discov- 
eries from sudden breakings out in discourse, etc., which 
showed there was a root. It was not the least skilful part 
of his concealing himself to make the world think he leaned 
towards an indi£ference in r4.'ligion, ^ 

The secret treaty between Charles II- and Philip IT,, King 
of Spain, mentioned by Carte, was Feigned at Bru&sels on 
April I2th, 16S6, by the Duke of Orniond^ and Rochester, 
on the part of Charles; and by FuensEJdagna and De Carilenss, 
on the part of Spain. It provided that Spain should supply 
4000 foot soldiers and 2000 cavalry, ''with arms, ammuni- 
tion, etc., for an eipedition to EDy;land in the course of the 
present year;^* and that Charles, *^ when he shall have re- 
covered his Crown/^ should maintain *' twelve ships of war — 
two of 60 guns, two of 50, four of 40, and four of 30, for 
five years for the service of Spain against Portugal, and for I 
the allowance of levies among the English and Irish/* There 
was a reserved and special article added to the Treaty, which 
was "not inserted in it on account of the need of entire 



I 



1 Lift Mittt LttUr* it/ iAe tirtt Mur^vU of Hmiifttx, vol, \\,, pp. SiS^T* 



SECRET TREATY WITH SPAIN 235 

secrecy/' by which Charles undertook, " upon his restoration, 
to suspend all Penal Laws against the Roman Catholics, and 
endeavour to procure their total revocation; to grant the 
Uoman Catholics full liberty in the free exercise of their 
religion, and to carry out fully the Treaty made by Ormond 
with the Irish in 1648." ' The Treaty here referred to 
provided, amongst other things, that all impediments should 
be removed which hindered Roman Catholics from sitting in 
the Irish Parliament; that Irish Roman Catholics should be 
preferred to "places ol command, honour, profit and trust 
in his Majesty *s armies ; ** that positions *' of command, honour, 
profit, and trust, in the Civil Government ** of Ireland should 
be conferred on them, together with the *' command of Forts, 
Castles, Garrison towns, and other places of importance;** 
and that "until full settlement in Parliament, 15,000 foci 
and 2500 horse, of the Roman Catholics of this Kingdom, 
shall be of the standing army of this Kingdom*' of Ireland. 
Full religious liberty was also accorded to Irish Roman 
Catholics. ' 

During the two years immediately following Charles' recep- 
tion into communion with the Church of Rome, by the 
Jesuit Talbot, in 1656, rumours of what had taken place 
got abroad. In 1658 they were so loudly heard that Charles 
thought it wise to deny them in the following letter, which 
he addressed to the Rev. Mr. Price, Presbyterian Minister 
of the English Congregation at Amsterdam. A similar letter 
was sent by him to the Rev. Mr. Cawston, Minister of tlie 
English Congregation at Rotterdam: — 

"Charles Efix. 

"Trusty and well beloved. We greet you well. We have received 
0O full a testimony, from persona to whom we give entire credit, 
of your good affection to our person nnd zeal to our Bervice, that 

> CaUntUor of i'larmdon State tapert, Tol. iii.. p. 110. 

* The articles of this Irish Treaty, of 1648, are print«'d ia Father Peter \VaUh*« 
Butory of the Lotjal IrUh hormulmr^ and lUnoiutranee. Ap[>eDdix of laatru- 
neota, pp -14-6 K 



236 



THE jssurra m oewt beitjiik 



upe willing to reoommend »jx ftffkir to yon in which we firi? very 
mQch conceroed. We do not wonder tb«t Ihe malice of our 
enemies ebould continue to l&y jill maDner of ecftndals upon as* 
which rnijfht tn-ke away onr repulAtion ; but that they shouUl fiad 
credit nith any, to make our atifectinn to the Proteata^t Religion 
in any deRree auapected, is very gtran^e, since the world cannot 
but take notice of our constant and uninterrupted profession and 
exertj^e of it in those pkcoa wherft the contrarj' relJKion la only 
pracUeed and Allowed. And though we do not boo^t of doing 
that which we should be heartily tubainnd if we did not do, we 
may rsasonably believe tUat no iLiim hatb or can more luanifeai 
hia affection to, and *eal for the Protestant Iveligion than we hft%*e 
done, or in aorae reapecta bath iuffered more for it, and therefore 
we are more sensibly alTycted that thone calamniea dan make im- 
preseion to our diaad vantage in the tnindii of boneat and piouA 
men, aa we are informed tbey have done> And we do the rathef 
impart the aense we have of oiir aulferin^ in thia particular to you, 
becAuee as you have the charge of the Kn^liah conjjregaCion in 
AttiBterdam^ ao you cannot but have much couTersatJon and 
acquaititance with the Miniatera of the Dutch Ohuixh, and otbera 
in that popolouB place, with whom we would not autfer under ao 
unjust and atandaloua an imputation. And we preeume and expect 
from yon, Uiat you will uae your utmost diligence and dexterity 
to root ont thoee unworthy aapersionfl, so malicioualy and groond- 
loaaly laid upon ua by wicked men ; and that you »aeure alt 
who will give credit to you, that we value ouraelvea bo much 
upon that part of our title, of being Defender of the Faith, that 
rK> worldly temptatione can ever prevail with ua to awerve from it 
and the Protoatant Kclif^ion in which we have beeu bred, the 
propagation whereof we flball endeavour with our utmoat power. 
And lis we Bhall never fail in the performaiioe of our duty hereia, 
ao we ethalk take the otficea you ahall do in vindicating aa from 
tbeae reproaches very well from yoiij in which we promise oorttelf 
you Bhall serve us elTectnftUy. And so we bid you farewell, 

"Given at our Court at BrueiAolH the 7th day of November, 1666^ 
iu the tenth year of our reign/' *■ 

Strong ss these ftffimiotiona of love to Proteatantism were 
they did not allay public suspicion. The runiours of hif 
fiecessioti to liome were so strong in London a year later 
that Lord Mordaunt found it necessary, on Not. 10th, 1659, 
to write to the Marquis of Ormond on the subject, in 
evident anxiety* 

"The occaaiotj,*' he wrote," of my writing to you i« to let you know 

that there ia a report ao hot of your Maater'a being turned Papist, 
that unless it be suddenly contradicted, and the world disabuiaed 
by aomething coming expressly from him, it is likely in thla extra- 



I 



I 



* CUtr^don Sffir Pa/xr*, td. iiL, pp, 419, *20, 



PBnTESTANT StlMSreRS DECEJVBD 



237 



I or 
Bfri 

Kb 



w 



I 



ordinary conjuncture to do him very great ^ injury ainoiiRBt his 
friends both in city and country; in both which, bis coOBtancy idl 
tbifl while hath rendered him many proHc]yte«. I beseech you, 
ther«l6r@, as booh as iWis iirrives, use your earnest endaavours to 
cause the ruiiitttke to be rectified. I urn told some do intend very 
shortly to publish how he hivs renounced his Eeligion. put away 
from him his ProteBtftnt Council, and only embrrtced Romftniets, 
Favour me with the truth of theae jiarliuulara, and it shall be my 
care to take order to Atay this cAluiany till our Master can do it 
more authentically. Do not cotUeiuii ray advice; but know bhat 
if it were not bi^hly necessary 1 eliould not have adventured to 
give you this trouble. Your Master is utterly mined (as to his 
iDtereet here in whatever party) if ibis he true; thou;^U be never 
bad a fairer K&me than at {jreeent; and 'tia his stability in that 
point that Kaine daily/' ^ 

In the face of such serious and dangerous rumours, it 
was of the utmost importance that something should bs 
done to allay the fears of Englishmen, who, if the real 
truth were known, would never permit Charles to ascend 
the Throne. Innocent and highly respectable dupes were 
found, ignorant of the true facta of the case, and willing ^o 
give their testimony to the reality of the King's loTe iur 
Protostantisni. 

Several of the Protestant Ministers of Paris, including II, 
Raymond Gachea, M. Drelincourt, and M- Dailt^, the well- 
known author of The Right Use of the Fathers^ during the 
following March wrote letters, which were published at the 
time, emphatically denying the rumours that had gone 
abroad* as to Charles's eecession to Rome. M. Daill^ wroto: 
**I know 'tis reported that the Kinf,^ has changed his religioii^ 
but who can believe a thing so contrary to all probability? 
KothJng of this appears to us; on the contrary we well 
know, that when he has resided in places where the exer-* 
ciae of hia religion is not permitted, he has always had his 
Chaplains with him, who have regularly performed Divine 
Service. Moreover, all Paris knows the anger the King 
expressed ai the endeavours that were used to pervert [to 
Popery j the Duke of Glouceeter. And though 'tia object^jd 



* Clmf^mdMk Siiti* P*^'. wJ. Ui,. fi. 808. 



238 



THB JS9UITS IM GREAT BillTAIIt 



that he never came to our Church at Charenton, yet bs we 
ftre better informed on this than any one, we can testify, 
that religion was not the cause of it, but that it was upon 
political and prudential considerations, which may be pecu- 
liar to our Church, for he has gone to sermon in Caen, 
and some other towns; and in Holland he heard some ser- 
mons from the famous Monsieur More, our present colleague. 
Thus, Sir, it is more clear than the day, that whatsoever 
has been reported till this time, of the change of this Prince's 
religioUf is a meer calumny/* 

Monsieur Raymond Gaches, Pastor of the Reformed Church 
at Paris, wrote to the well-known Rev. Richard Baxter: — 
**I know what odium baa been cast upon the King; some 
are dissatiaiied in his constancy to the true religion* I will 
not answer what truly may be said, that it belongs not 
unto subjects to enquire into the Princess religion; be he 
what he will^ if the right of reigning belongs to bim, 
obedience in ciril matters ia his due. But this Prince nerer 
departed from the public profession of the true religion; 
nor did he disdain to be present at our religious assemblies 
at Kouen and Bochelle, though he neror graced our Church 
at Paria with his presence, which truly grieved us.'^ 

Pastor Drelincourt, one of the Protestant Ministers at 
Paris, wrote: *'A report is here^ that the thing which will 
hinder the King's restoration is the opinion, conceived by 
some, of hia being turned Roman Catholic, and the fear 
that in time he will ruin the Protestant Religion. But I 
SM no ground for the report, his Majesty making no pro- 
fession of it, but, on the contrary, has rejected all the aids 
and ad van tages oflFered him upon th at condition* Charity 
is not jealous, and if it forbids us to suspect on alight 
grounds private persons, how can it approve jealousies upon 
persons so sacred!" ^ 

These letters of the Protestant Pastors were reprinted 



1 Nc«r« Mahr^ of the FuriiAHt, voL ii^ pp 636 5A9. 



CEABUS8 HTPOC&ITICAL FIETT 



and widely circulated m England in the interests of Charles. 
Ko doubt they helped him immensely, and at a time when 
help of the kind was particulsrly needed. But, after all, 
their real value was v^ry little. Charles left Paris five 
years before they were written; and what did tbey know 
of what had happened since then? No douht they wrote 
in good faith; yet, notwithstandirvg their testinionjr^ the fact 
remaiiiB^ Charles actually was a Homan Catiioltc when they 
wrote in his favour. 

As the time approached when, in all probahility, Charles 
would speedily be restored to the Throne, his lying profes- 
sions of love for Protestantism were multiplied. The author 
of the Secret History of the Reigns of Charles /A and James 11. 
tells H3 that: *' While he [Charles] lay at Breda^ daily ex- 
pecting the English Navy for his transportation [to England], 
the Diseenting party, fearing the worst, thought it but 
reasonable to send a select number of their most eminent 
DiTinea to wait upon his Majesty in Holland, in order to 
get the most advantageous promises from liim they could, 
for the liberty of their conscienceSn Of the number of these 
Divines, Mr. Case was one, who with the rest of his brethren 
coming where the King lay, and desiring to be admitted 
into the King's presence, were carried up into the chamber 
next or very near the King^s closet, but told withal, that 
' the King was very busy at his devotions^ and till he had 
done they must be contented to stay/ Being thus left alone 
(by contrivance no doubt) and hearing a sound of groaning 
piety, such was the curiosity of Mr, Case, that he would 
needs go and lay his ear to the closet door. But, heavens f 
how was the good old man ravished to hear the pious 
ejaculations that fell from the King's lipsl— 'Lord, since 
Thou art pleased to restore me to the Throne of my an- 
cestors, grant me a heart constant in the eiiercifie and pro- 
tection of Thy true Protestant religion. Never may I seek 
the oppression of those who, out of tendernese of their con- 
sciences, are not free to conform to outward and indifferent 




240 



Tfll JiaUITft Iff OBEAT ntUTAIN 



ceremonies' — with a great deal more of the same cant Which 
Mr. Case having overheard* full of joj and braDsportf retumin^ 
to his brethren, vpith bands and eyes to heaven uplifted, fell 
a-cong^ratulating the happiness of three nations over which 
the Lord had now placed a Saint of Paradise for their 
Prince ! After which, the King coming out of hiB closet, 
the deluded Ministers were ready to profitrat« themselves 
at his feet; and then it was that the King gave them thoae 
promises of bis favour and indulgence, which how well he 
after performed, they felt to their sorrow/' ^ 

Ib his letter from Breda to the Convention Psrliajnent, 
Charles boasted of his services to the Protestant cause. *' If 
you desire/* he wrote, " the advancement and prop^ation 
of the Protestant religion; we havc^ by our constant pro- 
fession and practice of it^ given sufficient testimony to the 
world, that neither the unkindneae of those of the same 
faith towards us, nor the civilities and obligations from those 
of a contrary profession (of both which we have had abun- 
dant evidence), could in the least degree startle us, or make 
us swerve from it; and nothing can be proposed to manifest 
our zeal and affection for it, to which we will not readily 
consent ; and we hope, in due time^ ourself to propose some- 
what to you for the propagation of it, that will satiafy the 
world that we have altcai^s made it both our care and our 
study, and have enough observed what is most likely to 
bring disadvantage to it*" ' 

Having, by means of oft-repeated professiomft of Protes- 
tantism, blinded the eyes of Englishmen as to hia true 
objects, Charles II. for two years after his Restoration went 
on in security, doing his utmost for the promotion of arbitrary 
power and Popery in his Kingdom. ^^ The project to make 
the King absolute/^ writes Rapin, **and equally to employ 
for that purpose the assistance of Catholics and Protestanta, 
begim by James L, vigorously pursued by Charlee L, inter^ 



I 



> Secret ffii6?ry. pp. SO— £2, 

* HiJTii't ii/jf of CkerUi the Sfttmdt voL ii., p. 



S3. Sdltioa IBU. 



CHARLES SECHETLT UA&BIID TO 1 PAPIST 



241 



nipbed by twenty yeara' troubles, was eagerly resumed under 
Charles IL'* Contrary to the wishes of a majority of his 
subjects^ he insisted on selecting as his wife a Roman 
Catholic Princess, Catheriue of Bragnnza, Infacta of Portagal, 
to whom he waa married at Portsmouth on May 24th, 1662, 
King James li. tella m in his Memoirs Writ of Hu Oam 
Hand^ that she wa3 first of all secretly married by Lord 
Attbip^nyf a Roman Catholic prieatf and subsequently she 
was puhliciif married by the Protestant Bishop of London. 
"Their Majesties,*' wrote James IL, **were married by my 
Lord Aubigny, Almoner to the Queen, but so privatdy (nci 
to offend the Protestants) that none were present but soma 
few Portuguese, as witnesses. Soon after this, the King and 
Queen coming forth into the great room, where all the 
company was, and being seated in two chairs, Doctor Sheldon, 
then Bishop of London, performed the outward ceremony in 
public, of declaring them to be man and wife/^ ' 

Amongst those who went to Portsmouth to visit the new 
Queen, and congratulate her on her arrival, was the Pro- 
yincial of the English Jesuits, who presented to her the 
respect of his Society, ' Her Confessor, who came over 
with her from Partug^l, a Father Mark Anthony Galli, waa 
a Jesuit, who applied to the General of his Order to admit 
the Queen into a participation in ^* the merits of the Society,'* 
towards which she ever manifested a great friendliness. 

Shortly after his raarria^'e, Charles sent* in October, 1662, 
Sir Richard BellingB, an Irish Roman Catholic, on a secret 
mission to the Pope, to ask that a Cardinal's hat should 
be given to ^ord Anbigny, Almoner to the Queen, and a 
descendant of the Duke of Lennox, whose Jesuitical conspi- 
racies in Scotland durint? the reign of James VL are related 
in a previous chapter. The wishes of Charles were supported 
by his mother and wife. Bellings took with him to Rome a 
Report of '^The Favours and Benefits bestowed upon the 



* Clftrke'* Ld/t of Jmmet th€ Steomd, tr«l. i., p. 394. 



14 



242 



THK JESUITS IM GBKAT BRITAIN 



English Catholics by the Reigning Monarch," in the hand-^ 
writinpf of Charles himself. In this docmneofc the Kioj 
boa&ted of his ^rvices to the Papacy during the £rsi twol 
years of his reign, which he enumerated aa follows: — 



"1. He bad relieved a larj^e nuivber of Catholics from the, 
sentence of confiscation of property pronounceil on them underl 
Cromwell. 

"2. He b&d suspended the execution of a portion of th« PsnJi] 
laws; flo much, naciieLy^ ra piiniBhed iioii-attendAnee at Protestnnt 
worship, m the case of rich CHiholica, by ttie loaa of tw<i-ihirdi 
of their eatftte, and in the case of poor, by & hnB of a sliilling (or 
every instance of recusancVn 

"3. He had set at liberty prieats and religions, who were in' 
prison or nnder sentence of death, for exercisinj^ tbeir ministry. 

"4. He had abolished the pursuivauta^ the officwls churged' 
with the duty of searchm^ out prieeU in the honses of Calholics, 
and had thus put an end lo an intoierable oppreeAion* inasmuch 
aa a Catholic in whose house a priest woa found wa« Liable to 
coi^fiAOotion of prnperty and banishment for life, 

*'5. NotwttUi^taDdin}? other and intich more advantageous pro^ 
pOBfils, he liftd mAiried a Cathoiic Princess. 

*'6. He had permitted the erection of two public chapeU im' 
^ London for the Queen Mother and hi* own Conaort: in (.be Queen'sl 
chjipel the choral office was solemnly celebrated by the Benedio- 
lineB, while in that of the Queen Mother the fuuctions were carried 
out by the Capuchins. All thia waa the cause of ^reat consolation 
to the Catholicef who bad &ee accees to the Divine Service in the 
Boyal ChApeli>. 

"7, He hftd, immediately on »9cendin^ the throne, caused liberal 
alms to be bestowed on the Enf^liiiib Nuns living in Plaaders, ee- 
peoiatly tho^te domiciled &t Ghent; and even during his exile in 
HolUnd he bad sent to the latter sixteen hundred scudi, in earnest 
of big goodwill towards theni. 

"S, He had g:iveii the Ghent Nuni^ permission to build aOoovent 
at Dunkirk, and to this he hitneelf contributed twelve tboueand 
Bcudi. 

"9y He had repeatedly received \v\ audienee pncBte and rpligioue, 
111 j3«7-/tcwtar hpo Prww>(ciai« o/ tiif JfsmiU^ and h<id as9nrrii ihffm of 
proieefion, 

"10. " " 
y had amstsd 
* elevaHcn 

''II. He had given the Catholic Lord^ a eeat and voice in the 
y^ Upper House of Faryameut, a conoesston unheard of since the 
lei}^ of Elisabeth* 

"12. The oath of allegiance prescribed to Catholics on entering 
or leaviiig the ICin|?doni had been Abolished, 

"13. "Hiirty thout^nd Catholics belonging to the London train* 
banda, who had declared theniselveB unable to take the oath 
according to the customarj^ form, had been permitted to eubscnbe 



I 



y in 



He had vi*ited the Qu^f>n*» Chapfl^ attended by his Court, fl 
nsted at j^ari q/ l/tc High Ma$s^ a/nd knfii prQ/(mndly ol CJbtf * 



flSi-llET NEOOTUTIOffS WITH TKE POPI 



243 



to a new formula, in which the name of Ibe Pope was not men^ 

tioned. 

^'14. SevcTal CutbolicB had been appointed to po«itiona of trust. ' 

*' ]5. The ftndeavoum of Parliament at the begiiming of the 
current jCAt, to provide for the enforcitig of the Fenul Lnws^ bod 
been opposed by the Kiug. 

''16. He had deprived the Exchequer of a conaider&bk flum by 
tiot permitting h to appropriate the forfeited two-tbirda of the 
etitateB of Catholics. 

**17. With rGf^Afd to the &<3CU«AtioiiB that the Kiiig bad pre- 
scribed to OathoUce d form of o^th prejudicial to tWr iojAlty 
to the Pope, it wilh to be observed that the real reapotiftiliility for 
ibe formula in question retried with one Petw Walsh, a Franciscan 
friar, who drew it up and had it printed^ and subscribed to by a 
number of hi« religious brethren^ whilst a Domiuiean biiihop, and 
others, had presented it to \h*s King, with the assurance that 
G»tholic6 might lawiiilly take It^" ^ 

Here was abunilant eridence of the Royal goodwill towards 
the Papacy* But Sir Richard Beltings wan entrusted, at the 
same time, with n further uiis^ion. The late Lord Acton, 
a learned Roman Catholic historian, wrote an article in the 
Hom^ and Foreign Seview, on *'Th8 Secret History of 
Charles 11/* For this article he was supplied with copies 
of original documents, relating to this period, by Father 
Boero, Librarian of the Jesuits* College in Rome. His lord- 
ship states that ** Sir Richard Bellings carried to Home 
propoaab for the submission of the three Kingdoms to the 
Church [of Rome], and prt^seuted to Alexander VIL the 
King*a Profejtsion of Faith.^' * In this document^ Bellesheim 
states, the King describes the '*^ greatly longed for union of 
his three Kingdoms of England^ Scotlaud, and Ireland with 
the Apostolic Roman See." The King also professed his 
wiUingness to accept ull the Decrees of the Council of Trent, 
and the decisions of r^^cent Pope^ against the Janseni^iic 
doctrines; and expressed his detestation of what he termed 
** the deplorable achism and hereby introduced by Luther, 
Zwingle, Calirin, and other wicked men/* and the ** Baby- 
lonish coofuaion ** brought about by the Protestant Re form a- 



* Horn* Mmd fereijn J?#m0, vol. L, [i. Hi. 



244 



THI JVUITA IK OEIAT BBITAUt 



tion. ^ The negoti&tions fell through, howeyer, and Bcllingt 
had to return io England, with the refusal of a CardinarB 
hat for Auhigriy* The King had wished to retain certain 
privileges to himself, ic the eTent of his Kingdoms beconaing 
reconciled to the Papacy, and these the Pope was uDwilling 
to concede^ Rome mu^t have all, or nothing. ■ 

All through his reign Charles IL helped forward the * 
interesia of the Church of Kame in his dominions to the 
utmost of his power, nerer hesitating to practise ererj 
possible deception in order that he nii^ht accomplish hii 
eril purpose. While Sir Richard Beltings was at Boin« 
Charlea endearonred to benefit the Papists indirectly- He 
issued a Royal Declaration, dated December 26th, 1662. in 
vhich he promised to do his utmost to persuade Parliament 
to grant him a dispensing power in favour of the Presby- 
terians and I^'onconformists, which should gire them lea?tf 
to ** modestly, and without scandal, perform their devotions 
in their own way/' At the same time he hoped to gi?« 
some indulgence to iloman Catholics, who had, he affirmed, 
deserved w^ll from him for their serrice^ to his father and 
himself. ^* It is not,'' he said, *'my intention to exelud« 
them from all benefit from such an act of indulgence, ■ 
but they are not to expect any open toleration." Ilapin 
say^ that ^* This de c t aratio n was reaol v ed an d pre pared 
at Somerset House, where the Queen Mother reaided, and 
probably by a Catholic Junto, or by secret favourers of that 
religion. Those who knew the Chancellor's [Lord ClureDdon^s] 
principles, easily judged he had no hand in it They had 
reason to be afterwards confirmed in that opinion, when ererj 
one evidently saw the King, in hia pretended compassioci 
for the Presbyterians, designed only to procure a toleration 
for Catholics/' * That Cbarles was moved by a desire to 
benefit the Homan Catholics rather than the Protestants, is 
proved also by a statement of Father Peter Walsh, a learned 

' fiftpiu'i TlUtoty 0/' Emgiand, vol. tL. p. £43. ath BUitioB. 



CHABLia iEECR TO BKLIX TBK FSNiT. LAWS 



245 



and lojol priesi who lired at the time. He ielk us that 
aboui 1661, one Sunday morning Yery earlj, being sent for 
by one of the first lords of the Kingdom, among other things 
this great personage spoke to him &s foUoweth: ** Father 
Walsh^ now is the time for you to reap the fruit of your 
long painful endeavours, your fidelity and patience^ and the 
expectations you have had of us for many years. I can telt 
you that we are now going to do what you have laboured 
so much for — yiz.f we are going to abolish all the laws 
which have been made in this Kingdom against Catholics, 
and procure them the public exercise of their religion ; ad- 
mission tBto all o£Bce9, civil and militaryf and a dispensation 
for taking the oath of supremacy. We shall manage so 
that they shall hare forty in London, where they may say 
Mass undisturbed for the future. We are going to choose 
some members of the House of Lordi^ to demand the aboli- 
tion of the laws against Roman Catholics, before the present 
Parliament rises* But, becauee the Presbyterian members 
will oppose such a measure, pretending that the safety of 
the State is incompatible with the toleration of a party that 
owns DO other superior but the Pope;— There fore^ my good 
father, you must, without delay, in going from house to 
house, engage alt the Catholics to promise to take the oath 
of allegiance^ which will stop the mnuths of the Presby- 
terian lords/* * When Parliament met on February 18th 
the King delivered a speech to both Houses in favour of 
adopting his Declaration, and at the same time he made a 
loud profession of his zeal on behalf of the Protestant religion. 
"The truth is/' be said, **I am in my nature an enemy to 
all severity for religion and conscience, how mistaken soever 
it be, when it extends to capital and sanguinary punishments, 
which, I am told^ began in Popinh times; therefore, when I 
say thiSf 1 hope I shall not need to warn any here not to 
infer from hence I mean to favour Popery. I must confoas 



1 (}a«ted in Harrti'l Ufi 9/ ('hurtm^ //, toL ii., p. 71. 



346 



TSi jvavira m qkxat BEtTAUt 



acor- _ 
steadH 



to yon there are many of that profe^ion who, having served 
my father and myself very well, nmj fairly hope for some 
P&ri of that indulgenco I would willingly afford to others 
who diaeeDi from us* But let me explain myself, lest some 
mistake m« herein, as I hear they did in my Declaration. 
I am far &om meaDing by this a loleratioD or qualifjisg 
them thereby to hold acy officee or places in the OoYero- 
ment ; nay, further, I desire F»ome bi.ws to be made to hinder 
the growth and progress of their doctrines. I hope youl 
have all so f^ood an opinion of my zeal for the Protestant 
religion, as I need not tell you, I will not yield to any 
therein, not to the Bishops themselves, nor in my lilmig 
the uniformity of it, &s it id now established, which being 
the standard of our religion, must be kept pare and uncor- 
mpted, h'ee from all other mixtures**^ ' 

Charles^ however, failed in gaining his object las 
of persuading the House of Commons to adopt his view*, 
he alarmed its members considerably. The House forwarded 
to his Majesty an address declining to accept his views, and 
shortly afterwards sent him a further address, in which they 
declared: ^^That his Majesty's leaity towards the Papists, 
had drawn into the Kingdom a great number of Romish 
priests and Jesuits/' and humbly begged him to issue a pro- 
cUmation to command all English, Irish, and Scotch Papist 
priests, eTCep ting those in atten dun ce on the Q ue ens or 
foreign ambassadors, to depart from the Kingdom. To this 
latter address the King replied that he was " highly offended " 
at the resort of Popist priests and Jesuits to his Kingdom, 
and that therefore he would issue the proclamation desired 
\y the House of Commons. At the same time he again 
aesared them of his " i^ection and zeal for the ProteataQt 
religion and the Church of England/* The proclamation was 
accordingly- issued, but was not seriously enforced. Riipin 
remarks that: — **As it was not then known that the King 



I 



) lUpiii'i SiUoff &f Sn^imnd, foL 



348. 



ORTPTO-PAPIflTS in COUBT 



247 



was a Catbolic, his assuraaces of teal for the Profcestant 
religion were taken for do many truths, which reiDOved all 
suspicion of his Laving the least design to restore the 
Catholic relii^ion in England/' Yet, though concealed from 
public gaze, the design existed, and woa known to a fe'vv trusted 
crypto- Romanista. These secret conspirators meant businessj 
and for a time everything seemed to favour their plot* 

Of these crypto-Catholics tlio author of The Sea'et History 
of ih4 Beigns of Charles 11- and Jantes Z/. — who wrote in 
16^90, and was evidently a well-informed man in high posi- 
tion—tells us that:— ** The King was not ignorant that he 
was fumiahed already with a stock of gentlemen who, being 
forced to share the misfortunes of his exile, and consequently 
no 1^8 embittered against those whom they looked upon 
as their oppressors, he had moulded them to his own Popish 
religion and interests, by corruptiri)^ tLeni in their banish- 
men t with him to reno unce the Pro teatant d nctr in e an d 
worsLipf and secretly reconcile themselves to the Church of 
Rome; insomuch that Mr. K. offered to prove one day, in. 
the pensionary House of Commons, that of all the persons, 
yet persons ail of rank and quality, who aojourned with the 
King abroad, there were but three then alive — vix., P. Rupert, 
the Lord M* and Mr, H, Coventry, who had not been pre- 
vailed upon by his Majesty to go to Mass* Nor could their 
being restored to their estates at his return separate them 
from their Master^a interests; for that, besides the future 
expectations with which the King continually fed them^ mid 
the obligations that the principles of the religion to which 
they hod revolted laid them under, they had bound them- 
selves by all the oaths and promkes that could be exacted 
from them, to assist and co-operate with him in all his 
designs for the extirpatlun of the Protestant religion, and 
introducing of Popery; though they were dispensed with from 
appearing barefaced.'' ' 



1 J%4 Se^H ffithftf «/ ^ Ittiffiu cf dkftfU* //. 9nJ *Jsm^i /A. pp, 10, AO 



24S 



THE JESCITS IN OBBIT BBCTA1N 



I 



I 



During the summer of 1663 a remarkable attack 
made upon the Karl of Clarendon bj George, Earl of 
Bristol. The latter appears to have had deep personal 
feeliage of haired towards the fornier, whom he desired to 
injure m everj po^sribte manner. Bristol was a Roman 
Catholic, while Clarendon was a Protestant, though unhappily, 
a atem foe to religious liberty being given to NonconformiatB. 
Both had rendered important services to Charles while on 
the Continent^ and were, no doubt, aware of hia secret re- 
ception into the Chureh of Rome. Clarendon was particu* 
larly anKtous to prevent the King^s affection for Popery 
becoming generally known, and with this object he plotted 
with the Duke of Ormond and the Earl of Southampton to 
protect the King^e character as a Protestant. Carte telk us 
that Ormond *^had kept the discovery he had made of the 
Eing^s change [of religion] a secret from his friend the 
Chancellor [Clarendon] aU the time that they were abroad 
together; but now [in 1662] he thought it necessary to 
diacover ii to him and the Earl of Southampton, that 
they might agree on some measures to prevent ae well 
the King's being prevailed upon to declare himself, or the 
Roman Catholic priests publish his secret embracing their 
religion. They apprehended very ill consequences from 
eitber of these, itnd agreed, that as soon as the new Parlia^ 
ment should meet, a clause should be inserted in some 
Act, making it a premunire for any person to say that the 
King waa a Papist. This was done in the first Act which 
was passed in that Parliament, for the Security of His 
Majesty^s Person and Government'* * The Act referred 
to by Carte is that of 13 Charles IL, Chapter i. It wi^ 
paseed in 1661 » and not only inflicted a severe punishment H 
on all who said tbe King whs a Papist, but also on all who 
affixmed that he had a design to introduce Popery. This 
Act is no longer on the Statute Book. Apparently the Earl , 



' Cirte*i lijf Qf Orm^M^, woh if., p. U*. 



ATT ACE ON THl KARL OF CLAREimON 



240 



of Bristol thought he could inflict a deadly injury on his 
enemy the Earl of Clftrendon, by proving him giiiltj of 
breftking the very law in the passinpf of which he had taken 
80 prominent a part, When, in 1667, the Earl of Clarendon 
was for a second time charp;ed with treason, he boasted: 
"1 may without vanity aay that 1 had more than a common 
part in the framing and promoting that Act of Parliament, 
that hath made those seditious discourses, of the King^a 
bein^ a Papiat in his heari, or Popishly affected, 30 very 
penal as it is; and therefore there is need of an undoubted 
and uncontrollable evidence that I did so &oon run into that 
crime tnyaeltV * 

The Earl of Bristol, on July lOtb, went down to the 
House of Lords and there impeached the Earl of Clarendon 
of High Treason, for thnt (amongst other matters which he 
named) hft had endeavoured **by words of his own, and by 
artificial insinuations of his creatures and dependants, that 
His Majesty was inclined to Popery, and had a design to 
alter the religion established in this Kingdom ; " that to 
several membera of the Phvy Council he had asserted, 
"That his Majesty was dangerously corrupted in his religion, 
and inclined to Popery ; that persons of that religion had 
such access and such credit with him, that unless there 
were a careful eye had unto it, the Protestant religion 
would be overthrown in this Kingdom," that **hi3 Majesty 
bad given ^10,000 to remove a zealous Protestant that he 
might bring into that high place of trust [he., as Principal 
Secretary of State] a concealed Papist" — Sir Henry Bennet. * 
Lord Clarendon denied the truth of the charges brought 
against him, and was ac guittad by_ _the Hou3e_ijl_l40_rdaj 
upon which his a$;^cuserfled^from the country to escape the 
wrath of the King, who was naturally very angry at having 
no much public attention directed to auch a very delicate 
subject. **It could not,'* says Hapin, ''but appear strange 

' Coiitciivm of State Tri^Wt toI, tiU., |k 385. Ijovdoo, ITSfi, 
> IMd.^ vol. ii., p. 3^0, where tlut iirticlM are printnl in ftill. 



250 



THE JEBmT8 IN OBgAT PKlTAtK 



ihat an open and declared Papist, fts the Earl of Bristol 
waSf aboutd accuse the CliauceUor of fafottring the Romibh 
religion* and, on the other hand, of inBinuaiing that the King 
was a Panisfc, in order to alienate the aSection of his sub-* 
jecte. But what was still more eztraordinarj in the impeach- 
ment iSf that the insinuations the Chancellor vaa accused 
of^ concerning the King', were true in theraselTes." ' 

This was the first serious attack made upon the power of 
Clarendon, but it was not the last. Hig enemies were manr, ■ 
and as he was opposed to an increase of libertj bein^piven 
to Presbyterians and Nonconformista, many of the latter would 
no doubt hare rejoiced to hare seen him removed from power. ■ 
But his chief enemies were the crypto -Papists in the Courts 
who, a^er four years of incessant intriguing, succeeded in 
their efTorts. Of course the {charges brought against Clarendon 
were of a raried kind, and ttiere can be no doubt that he 
was not altogether free from blame. The Earl of South- 
ampton, who died about three months before Clarendon's 
fall from power^ said of him : — ** The Earl of Clarendon ia 
a true Protestant, and an honest Englishman; and while he 
is in place we are secure of oar laws, liberties^ and religion; 
but whenever he sliall be reTMOved, England will feel the 
ill eflects of it/' 

' Rtjtin'i Sitt^ &/ Engiamd, vol. x!., |i* 254. 



CHAPTER IX 



CHAELES ir. AKD THE JESUITS 



I 



1/ further proof be n&eded to show that Charles, while 
King of England, atteiiding the services of the Church of 
Unglatid, and eTen taking the Sacrament in her commonion, 
was in reality all the time a Roman Catholic, it wil] be 
fotind in the story of his first illegitimate son, aa related 
for the first time in Italy io 1863, bj a Jesuit priest, 
Father Boero, in the columna of the CivUta Caltolica^ the 
official orgnn of the Jesuit Order at Rome. The articles 
contributed by Father Boero to that magazine were sub- 
eeqnentlj re-issued by the Jeimits as^ paniphlet of 79 pages 
with the following title: " Isforut Delia Cojitersiojie AUa 
Chifsa CattoVwa Di Carlo II. Be [^ Ingilierra^ Cavata Da 
Scritture Autentiche ed Original i. Per Giuseppe Boero, 
D.C.D.G/^ In 1866 a translation into English of sotne of 
the documents in this extraordinary pamphlet appeared in 
the Gentleman^s Magazim^ which has now become so scarce 
that I had to wait six years, after first hearing of what it 
contained, before I conid even get a chance of purchasing 
a copy. London second-hand booksellers, dealing specially 
in noagasLnes, hare frequently offered nie ^3 3a. for the 
two volumes for 1366, to complete their seta. It looka as 
though they had been bought up to be suppressed as far 
as poflsible. An article on Father Boero^s revelations appeared 
hi the Hotne and Foreign Kevmo for July, 1862, which waa 
then edited by the late Lord Acton. The article bears bis 
initials, and is entitled, "Secret History of Charles II." 
Lord A cton had been shown the documents by Father 
Boero, before they were pubiislied by him in Italy, and 




252 



TBt JEStriTS Ur dlSAT BRITAIN 



gives his readers a moat interesting account of the secret 
intrigues of Charles with the Pope and the General of the 
Je&uitfi. In 1890 the late Mr. W. Maziere Brady, a Roman 
Calholic residing in Rome, deToted a chapter of hia book, 
entitled Anglo-Eoman Papers^ to the story of "The Eldest 
Natural Son of Charles IL" Neither Lord Acton nor Blr. 
Brady express any doubt aa to the truthfulnesa of Father 
Boero's extraordinary narrative. 

From these documents we learn that, early in the year 
1668, Charles's eldest illegitimnte soti, James Stuart, under 
the alias of James de la Cloche, was received into the Order 
of Jesuits at Rome, as a novice. When the news reached 
London the young naan's Royal father expressed his satisfac- 
tion in a long and secret letter^ which he addressed to the 
General of the Jesuits, on August 4th, 1668. In this docu- 
ment Charles tells the General that he had long prayed that 
God would send him someone to whom he "could eonfide 
the important matter of our spiritual welfare, without giving 
Our Court the shddow of a suspicion thai We were a Catholit.'^' 
There were, he said, '*a large number of prieata" of the 
Church of Rome about the Court, but he could not with safety 
accept the services of any of them, for fear of detection. 
Under these circumstances it seemed to him a " Providence of 
God^^ that he had now a son of his owii in the Jesuit College 
at Rome. Thia son would, he hoped, be aent by the General 
as quickly as possible to London, to be secretly ordained a 
Roman Catholic priest, in order, said the King, that he may 
*- administer to Us, privately, the Sacraments of Conftteaion 
and Communion, which We desire to receive without delay,** 
and thus enable his father to ^^praeii^e the rUes of the Bonum 
Cafholie rdigton without exciting in Our Court the shadow 
of a doubt that We belong to that persuasion." He telU 
the General : — ** We often wrote secretly to His Holiness con- 
cerning Our own conversion to the Roman Catholic Church ; *' 
thus proving that the Pope was not ignorant of the facts 
of the case; and he adda that he had no wish to withdraw 



I 



I 
I 



I 

i 
I 




TEB IING^B 8RCRKT COBBiSPONDENCB WiTtt THl JBSOITS 363 



^" biB son from the Jesuit Order ; on the contrary, he aa^ured 
the General:—** We hold it uear to Our heart that he should 
pass his life with you.** Apparently the King^ felt that al« 
though he had been formallj receiv&d into the Church of 
I Kome thirteen yeara preyioueljr, jet, for hia attendance at 
^B Church of Eaglnnd services, and his hypocritical protujaes to 
^^ support the Protestant religion, and his other innumerable 
wickednesses, he needed absolution, and therefore he expressed 
m hope that hia aon, when he arrired in London, would 
"ttbaolre TJs from heresy and reconcile Us to God and Hia 
Church/' In conclusion, he a&iures the General of his Eoyal 
1 alTection and goodwill to the Jesuit Order, and of hia desire 
^Kto assist it. 

^H On the same day Charles wrote direct to his natural son, 
^H telling him about his plans for his future^ and urging htm not to 
write to his father, "in order that not the slightest suspicion 
of Our being a Catholic may arise," and assuring him of 
"the good feelings which We entertain for the Reverend 
Patbera, the Jesuits/' On August 29th, 1668, the King 
again wrote to the Qeneral of th^ Jesuits on the same sub- 
ject, and urged him to become iv party to a rloception which 
he was practising on the Queen of Sweiien, evidently without 
m doubt that he would comply with his underhand wishes. 
He tells the General that he is in great fear lest the fact 
that he is a Roman Catholic should be discovered by his 
BubjectSf for *^of uU the evils that could surround us, the 
eeriainiy that We were a Catholic would be the greattifit, 
and the most likely to cause Our death/* 
i The King wrote a second letter, on the same day, to the 

General of the Jesuits, giving further directions for his 8oa s 
journey to England, and ordering that on his arrival he should 
call himself by the name of Henry tie Rohan. The Kijig 
informs the General that he takes note secretly and circum- 
spectly of all departures and arrivals of veaaelfl at the various 
English ports, and of the arrival of all strangers: — "This/^ 
says Charles II,, ** we do on colour of 2eal for the Kingdom 




254 



THE JE3UJTB IR GBKiT &SITA1II 



and on pretext of maintaining the ProUstant rtU^ton, to which 
ire feign to be more than ever atlacked^ although before God 
Who jsees t^u heart urn abhor it as most false and perfticiaus. 
We now desire our son not to travel via Prance. We ask 
you, Fatlier Generalj to spread a report tliat he is gone to 
Jersey or Hanton to see his pretended mother, who wisbes 
to become a Catholic, ... No doubt, when time and cir- 
cumstances shall permit our writing to acquaint His Holiness 
of the ohedietjce which we owe to him as Vicar of Christy we 
hope that he will entertain for us such benevolence aa not 
to refuse our son the Cardinal'^ hat. If it should be incon- 
venient for him to reside in England as a Cardinal, we can 
send him to reside in Rome, as we intend, with all the Royal 
magnificence due to his rank. If he wishes^ neverthele^, to 
be a simple Jesuit, we ehall not force the purple on faim 
against hia will/' ' 

This disreputable transaction of Charles IL with the General 
of the Jesuits is so important that I think it necessary to 
reprint below entire bis two first letters to the General^ and 
also hia letter to his son: — 

GMAELEB II. TO THE GEKKRAI OF THE JUSUITS. 

" To tfu Vi^ Mewrmd Fathir, the Qmerat of the Ord^ of iV 

Je9uiU at Rome. 

*' Veby Rev, Fathkr.— We write to your Reverence bs lo a person 
whom We eateem lo ba of aing-ular prudence &nd sound tiense, 
in&dmuch as the flrat great charge which your Reverence has of 
so celebrated an Order doeis not permit Us lo thiok otherwise. We 
addrea« yoxk in the French tongue, used by every person of qualH/, 
with which we believe your Falemity to be fAinilisr. We prel^ 
writing in this tongue, to n»ing &n imperfect Latin, the nee of 
which might cause U8 to bo misunderatood; ihe more ospeciaUj 
u our chief object in view is to avoid the necessity of any Engh^b- 
mftn's seeing this as an intprpreler, a circumstance which might 
greatly tend to the detriment of tLie motives which leiul Ua to 
deaire that thin letter may remain secret between yourself and Ds. 

**To begin: Your Very Ke%'erend Paternity knuws, that long ainoe 
in the midst of the cares imposed upon Ue by our Crown, We hftve 
prayed God that He would votichsafe to bestow upon Us the 
occasion of finding in our Kingdom a person to whom We oovUd 



I 



1 



Jn^to-fUmaA Ft^era, |»^ 10S« 



CTIATILES LETTER TO THE aENERAL OF TflE JEStTtTS 



255 



<»onfide the important matter of our Bpintual welfare, witboat 
giving Our Court the shadow of a Bttepicion that We wero & 
C&tboUc; and, although there be here a largo nnmber of prieflte, 
florae for the special aervioe of the Queens, and who inhabit Our 
Palaces of St. Jaraes and Soroeraet, and others who live diaijeraed 
in London^ nevertheless, We cannot accept the Benricea of any of 
tbem, lest we should excite the suspicious of our Court by con- 
versinj^ with these persons who, whatever may be their external 
di^uisei are quickly known and detected. NDtwithatandin;; these 
great and ftenouB diffiuuUies, it is evident that the Provid(}Dce of 
Qod had provided for and seconded this ardent deaire on Our part, 
by raiflin^ to TJs a aoii of the (.Catholic faith ^ in whom alone we 
can coiitide in ho delicate a matter ; and although there might he 
found, for our service in these cirouraatani^, many persona more 
vers'^d Uian he in the mysteries of the Catholic religion, We, 
nevertbeies*. can accept none other than himself, and^ moreover, 
he wiil mftr gtiffi^ to a^mtnuf^r to U*, privaifit^j iKe Saoram&nU 
Oonfemm CMd Cbmn^itfUon, 'which \Y€ dnire io teceif^ witho^ 






Tlxi* 



10, our 3on, ia a young Cavalier, vfhom We know you have 
renewed wi four Orders in Rome, under the name of De La Cloche, 
of Jersey, for whom We have always entertained a singular affec- 
lion» partly because he was bom to Us, when we were not more 
than aijtleen or seventeen years of age, of a young lady belonging 
to the most diatini^isbed in Our Kingdom, an evfv\t nrlsinvi nither 
from the wenknt^Hw nf our oarb- youth than from any grejtt. deprav- 
ity: and prtttly l"*<5au'e of Ihe excellent untlerstnndinjij which We 
have always lound in him, and of the eminent learning to which, 
by Our tneana, be has attained ; and We the more esteem his 
entrance into the Koman Catholic Church because We It now that 
he haa done po with discretion and reason and the aid of learning. 
Great and various reations connected with the peace of our King- 
dom have hitherto withheld Us from publicly recognising him as 
Our aun, but this will be but of short duration, as We are now 
resolved to recognise him in a few year^, and have In the mean- 
time granted him, in the year 1666, our Teatimoniale, in the event 
of our demise, in order that he may drnw all uecessary claims 
from them, in due time and place* And as he is in no way known 
here» except by the two Queens, this business bos been treated 
onder the greatest secrecy; We are, therefore, enabled to converse 
in all security with him, and pmctUa ih€ Wfrt o/ the Roman CathoHc 
r^Uffion^ wiihotii exciting is our Court the ithadow vf a douht that 
We belong to tfuU pfrwwxnmv: a matter which we could not carry 
out with any other Missionary, aeeing with what entire confidejice^ 
We can open our heart to him only, in all sincerity and security, 
an though he formed a part of Ouraelf; and it it evident that 
although he was bom to Us in early youth and against the Diviiw 
Law, God neverthelees, who alone can evoke good from evil, has 
turned him to His holy purpose for the salvation of Our soul. 

" We think that we have explained to your Very Reverend 
Paternity the want We have of him; and if your Paternity write 
to Us, you will confide your letters to our Son only, when he 
•hall eome to Us, and although We are aware that you oould 



2&6 



TO J£9tT]TB or QRKlt BBITHH 



MBilj find «ome other secure chitnnel it) thia mfttt«r, neverthel 
It would be to U8 a c&um of displeasure if yau confided year 
lettera to other thaa him; tmd this fnr many reaaons of welgb^ 
oonBideration of which your Paternity can KQeu p&rt; &nd alflo* 
more especiftlty, on d^cauot of th«i evils wbioh might &me, u 
unfortunately occurred when We received from Home m letter m 
uiawer to one from Oiirself to the late Pope, which wa« delivered 
to ij« with every precaution by a Iloman Cfttholic; yet this wat . 
not doue with a degree of prudence sutticieut to prevent the clear* ■ 
sighted of our Oturt from in/trring (hnt We had a $etr^t imder- m 
»iandmff vnth the Pope; but, having found the meana of suppress- 
ins thia aLiepicion, which hAd begun to ciroulatCt that We were a 
Boman C&tnoHc^ We were at the same time, obtijifed, from dread 
leat it flhouhl a^ain ^prin^ Up in the public mind, to b«&r, on 
several occaHiDns, with many thin^ft which turtied to the prejudice 
of manj' Roman Catholicfl in our Kingdom of Ireland ; which i« 
still the reason why Our bei[ig cooaLmined to ce&se to c^nimanicate 
with the Holy See ia in force; although We often vfr&te ttertihi 
to HU HoHneM coTtctrninff Our (mm, cmwertism io ih« Rotnan CathoUo m 
Church at the period when Wo requested Him to raise our Well- 1 
beloved Coueint my Lord d'Aubiguy, to the rank of Cardinal, which ^ 
for good reasons, was refused. 

** And altbougb the Queen of Sweden ia both prudent and wim, 
still that IB not eutl^cient to remove Our fears that she may be s 
woman who ooukl not keep thii Beeret, and on that account, m 
she believes that she alone knows the particulars of the birth of 
Our beloved son, We have, of late, written to her» and have con' 
firmed her in this belief, and, for those reasoufl, Your Very Rev* 
erend Paternity will likewise ^ive her to understand, at the oppor- 
tune moment, that you know uothinjf of hiA birth, should she question 
yon on the subject; and, in tUe same manner. We entreat Your 
Very Keverend Paternity to state neither to her, nor to any other 
person whomsoever, the intention we entertain of becoming a Ca- 
tholic, nor that to the end We desire Our dearly* beloved eon bo 
come to Vr* If the Queen of Sweden is desirous of knowing where 
he ia gone. Your Very Reverend Paternity will know where to 
iind a pretext, and might say that he has been sent on a miesion 
to the Isle of Jersey, or into sou>e other part of Oar Kingdom, or 
any other pretext, to the end that we may not again have to repeat 
to Your Very Reverend Fatemity Our desire and wishes on this 
matler. We, therefore, pray you to aend to Us our most dearly* 
beloved son as quickly as possible^ that is, as soon an the moat 
fitting lime of this or of the ensuing season shall permit, W^e be* 
lieve that Your Very Reverend Paternity is actuated by too sirdent 
a seal for the salvation of £onla« and entertains too high a respect 
for crowned headfi, not to acquiesce in so justa demand. We have 
had ftome idea of writing to His UolincBS, and laying before Him 
that which We had on Our mind, and, at the same time, of re- 
questing bim to send Otir son to Us^ but have thought itaufficient, 
on this occasion, to lay Out views before Your Very Reverend 
Paternity, reserving to another season, of which We ahalt aviul 
Ourself as soon as may be, to write and state our iotentiotis to 
th£9 Pope, throu)^b the agency of a secret meesenger, sent by lis 



I 



LETTER TO THE QEHEBAL OF THE JESUITS 



257 



^n piTtpose, should our d early- belorcd son not then be in prienl'a 
ord^]^, or ehotild he not be able to be ordnlned without having 
publicly lo make known hU binh; or, in fact, tUrou^'h any other 
eircum^tiinces. We state all the pfii-ticulAr^, beciiuee We are ignorant 
of your manner of proceeding 111 such matter:^, in auch case a« the 
present ^ be should nn do account be ordained in Eomep in order 
that he may not have to declare to the Bi^bopa or prieste who he 
is; but let bim go to Paris and present himself to our well-beloved 
Cousin, the King of Fratac^, or, if he prefer it, tf* our moat honour- 
ed eislerT the Duobesa of Orleuns, to both of whom he will raake, 
in all security, our wishes kuowu. They well understand what we 
have on our mind, and will recof^niae our dearly beloved eon by 
the tokens we gave in 1665; and, learning that he is a Catholic, 
they either witl find or possess the means of cauaing hiui to be 
ordained a priest, without its beioj; known who he is, and with the 
j^'^Atest secrecy, aa we are led to conclude: ii> indeed, he should 
not prefer to cowe Btraij^ht to us without being ordained a pnoi^t, 
whiciij perhaps, would be hia better mode of proceeding:, aa we 
cou^d carry out this same piirpose by mejins of the Queen our 
moat honoured mother, and of the t^ueen Ctonaort, who both could 
have at their disposal Bishops, Miesionariefl, or others to perform 
thie duty, ao that no prf*cm in the world <if>tUd either hu>w or tuppo^^ 
anything. We say this, lost any difficulty should present itseff in 
ordaining him iu Rome. 

"And although we order our dearly beloved boo lo corae toua, 
neverthelen it t.i not loitk any inteniion to withdraw him from y^ur 
Ord^r: on tho other hand, We hold it tuar to &Hr h^art that hi* ahoutd 
pau hi» lije with x/ou^ if the Lord should inspire bim with that 
desire to embrace that state: whilst we^ havin|^ ihrout^h his means, 
set in order all matters of conscience, shall not place any impe^ 
diment to his return to Home, there to live according to the vows 
which he has embraced ; but sKall^ darinj( his stay iu our service, 
permit him, if such be hi? choice, to observe with those members 
of your Order, who are in our Kingdom, the miee of the religious 
life he hae embracedj provided this be not done in London, but 
in some town or pLice not far distant from Our City of Loudon, 
in order that he may come to Us with greater speed when We 
require his eervic^a. And the reason why We do not wish him to 
remain in London, among your memberft^ is on account of the danger 
that a suspicion m^gbt arise that ho was a Jesuit, if he were to 
enter places where your membeTa reside, who are known to many; 
ft circumstance which might turn to Our prejudice. Or* if the 
foregoing plans be not carried into effect, We are content, a/t^ 
ht thaii have abwtved Ui from fieresy, and reconciled U$ to God and 
the Churthf that he return to Rome, to lead there the religious life 
be baa embraced, and there await Our future orders, which manner 
of proceeding We consider the best; believing that your Very 
Reverend Paternity will be of Our opinion and way of thinking in 
this last proposal ; and this carried out, We will send him back 
to Home under the rule of your Very Reverend Paternity, in ord^r 
that he may fiy ycmr leaching become, better able to mrve Ui* And 
during the short time he will be in London let him be most 
guarded in not saying for what purpoae he is come, when speaking 

17 



258 



Tos nstnrs iv «iut beitidi 



I 



to Any of jouT ra^mheni he m^y, iiiite«d, say thai ke haa iaip(w«>^ 
taut ba^iuesA ftt Our Gooity U> be kaoTo only (o your Very Ker* 
erend F&teroity And himself. 

"And &UhouKh I eaDaot openly expreee to *ll your Elnfttrioui 
Society the affection tmd good will We oear iovardt ii^ this oeed be 
no impediment to yoor Very Uerereud P&teraity to Ui V$ knom 
hf Our dearhf btlowd ton in what moniKr We vvay usHti it: tht 
which we ahi^li the more cheerfully do, because We are asaortd 
that any a^ist&nce OQ Out part wUt be devoted to the service of 
God, in ejtpiatioD of Our flin«, and in this good hope and expecta^ 
tioUp We commend Ourselfto yoar prayers^ and abo our Kingdom, 
tkud we: 

""CHABLES, Ktxa or Esolajo). 

" Crasles U. to Hi8 Boh* 

**For Our moii honoured S<m, the Prinee Htuartf rtaitUnff at Rome 
with th^. I^i^vi^fnd Father*, the Je»mt$, Wider the name of KonHwr 
d€ La Cloche. 

"SiE,— We have written at length to your Very Reverend Father 
the Geaeral of the Jeauil^, who will explain our wiibee to yuu. 
The Queen of Sweden hiu borrowed from Ua the BUm of monev 
which We had remttted to her Aa a meana of aubeiatence for your- 
ielf for come years. We have taken the necessary meaaurea to 
the matter; do not, therefore, tbiDk any more about it; neither 
write nor apeak further to her on the subject. 

"If the autumn be too uo propitious for you to travel to Vb, and 
YOU feel you cannot do so without incurring the risk of faUiaf ■ 
ilJ, wait until the ensuing aprinj?; taking care above all things mm 
your health, and giving your^eif repose^ and do not write to Ufl, " 
in order that uot the tHghteat »u*picion of Our being a Caihofio fnay 
ariie. 

**Tbe Queens are moBt impatient to aee you» aa we have fiecretlj 
communicated to them your coaverpiou to the Boman Catholic _ 
religion. They hav^e counselled Ua to aay that We shall certainly I 
not prevent your living in the Institution [the Jesuit Ordor] yovil 
have made choioe of. and in which it is most aeceptat»te to Ui 
that you continue to live for the reet of your life. 

''With all thia, measure well your Btrength and constitution, 
which appears to ua to be somewhat weak and delicate. Beariu 
mind that one can be a good Catholic without being a Monk. 
Bear also in mind that We also entertain the desire to reoOfpiisA 
you after a few years; but, up to the present time, neither tb« 
rarliament nor public oifairs leaning thereto, We have been com- 
pelled to defer it. You shall, moreover, conaider that from Ui 
you mi^ht lay claima to honours aud titles as great, if not greater, 
than tho^^e of the Duke of Monmouth, who is a young man like 
youisell Should liberty of oonacience and the Catholic religion 
be restored to this Kingdom, you might even perhaps entertdo 
hopes of arrivinj; at the Crows ; because We may assure you that, 
should God 40 decree, that We and our honoured brother ths 
Duke of Tork die without bein, the Kingdom will ba your^ nor 



CHAELKB8 LETTER TO HIS H0» 



259 



eoold the P»rlmmen(, according to the laws, oppose iUelf to this. 
But your being a Roman Catholic would be an impediment, or if, 
M is nnw the cafte. the impossibility of having other than Fro- 
testant Sovereigns were to continue. 

''Such i^ the Aubstance of what the Qui^ena counsel ns to write* 
If you are mor© inclined, every matter weil weijt^bed, to «©rve God 
in the iDtjtitution of the Jesuits, We are not dispo&ed to oppose 
the Divine WiU^ which We hflve already but too mnch offended 
by Our fftulta. We ahatl not, therefore, oppose jou if yon are 
in^ipired of God ; We desire only that you maturely consider this 
matter and think upon it deeply. Weh&d wished to write Lo the Pope 
before epea.kiu^ to you* We wrote to the late Pope requesting him 
to bestow the dignity of Cardinal on our beloved Couain, my Lord 
d'Aubi^y, a f<ati9factiont however, that wss not conceded to Ua; 
neTcrtheleaa, We do not entertain any niipieasdntness of feeling 
towards hl^ Holiness on thia account, who laid before Us a great 
multitude of reasons why he could not create a Ciirdinal for Our 
Kingdonip Beein^c the state in which religions n^atterB and other 
affaire are at the present tinoe. Shortly afler» We wrote to the 
Queen of Sweden, recommending ber not to write to Ua, and to 
receive you a« a simple gentleman, and not to appear to know 
the condition of your birth; yoa will not, therefore, taJte it aniiss 
if ber Majesty ehould receive you aa one. It is to Us no small 
grief to see yon constrained to live unknown. But have patience 
for a short time: We shall, in a few years, take measures bo to 
manage public aflairsT and the Parliament more particularly, that 
the whole worM »hall know who you are. You Bhall tien no 
longer live in privations and straita; and it will depend on your- 
^f to live in liberty and the enjoyment of that splendour which 
in due to a person of your rank and birth j nnletft^, indeed, being 
atrongly inepired of God, you should positively deterniine to con- 
tinne to lead ihe religioua life you have already entered npon. 

'* Although W** cannot and ought not opwify to manifest theffood 
fteiingtt ivhich H> rntrrtain jm" the R&Mrend Faihgrt^ the Jetiiiit, who 
have received you, nevertheleaa, We shaH await the opportunity of 
Iteincr hfUfi' abU io asm*t thmn wifh Our Royal rtitmijieffnte in a more 
manifest manner, should there be any place, aite, bnildinp, or 
oocneion in which they may require our aaBietance, and we have 
it in Our power to give them aid. We ehall do bo the more will- 
IDgly, becaui^e We are aware that our gift would be devoted to 
the service of God and the remission of Our nins. Nor are We 
wilting that a person of your birth should remain among then) 
withont some fotindtuion in remembrance of your condition^ should 
you pi^ifsist tv continue lo live with them. We will speak to you 
ioucbing Ibirt mutter in London. In the meantime We wish you 
to believe that We have nourUbed a special regard for you, not 
only because you were bom to Us in our early youth when Wo 
were little more than sixteen or seventeen yearg of j^e, but more 
pmrticutarly beeauBe of the excellent diapodition We have observed 
in yoUj and alao for the high flcientidc attAinmenta you have 
aoqaired through assistance, and likewise, because you have ever 
obeyed Our comniands, all of which, joined to the" paternal love 
We bear you, largely 8tr»y Ua towarda wiahing you eYWy sort 



260 



YWE nfum m esz4t keraib 






of good ; setting amde th« re^rdC We ^xpetieoce in aeeifi£ fon 
liTin; (hus ttnJcnown ftud unAppreeiftted ; & aUte which will con- 
tinue the thoitevl poceible time for Ui. 

"We cftDDOt Tfry secretly scad U> Some & exim of motiey ioffi* 
cieut for & penpD of joar birth to 6D&ble yon to aasume the stAte 
And condition neceMSiry to Appear before Ua. as We are not desirous 
to bftve it known in Borne that there is in Home aiiy person with 
whom We are in commanication. It cannot be that joa will DOt^ 
in every »^nao, be prudent and circamepect when coming to Cs; 
if not in the stale of a person of your quality, at leaAt in that of 
AD ordinary gentleman when you iet foot in England. Lastly, 
pray for us, for the Quecna, and for our Kingdom. 

"We are, 
"Your affectionate ffitber, 

*' CHARLES, 

'*KlKO OF EXGI^KD, FRASGX, SCOTLAND, AS»D I: 

'•Whitkhau*, 4ih Augtut, 1662." 

"CUABUS II. TO TKK GeKEEIL OF THB JesuITB. I 

* To Ih^ M^Trmd FtUker, 0ie GeMral of ihf Order of ihr JermU 
at fym*, 

**8m Asn VcBY BfVKfiKKo Fathek,— We eend in great hafltej 
and secrecy an express mei}9eRj;er with two letters, one to Your | 

Very Reverend Paternity reqaeating that our mo&t dearly beln 
son mav come to u« as soon a-s poseible^ and one to the Qi 
of Sweden; and have commanded Our measenper to await^ 
Ifajeety in any Italian city ahe may have to pa^ throngb, ae wel 
are averse that he should in any manner make his apt>earaac8 inl 
your houfte^ le«t he should there be known by any niembera off 
your Order who may be English and worthy of belief, or remain 
more than one day in Borne, leat be should alao be their recognised 
by KngUshnien. 

"We muat inform your Very Reverend Paternity that, after Wb 
had written Our first letter, We received reliable new^ that 
Queen of Sweden had gone to Rome against our expectatiot 
that this, to a certain dejirree^ has pUce^l in no small 
matter of Our spiritual welfare. We have in consequence, 
nfter having taken the advice of the Queens, determined at once] 
to write to the Queen uf Sweden; prelanding, and giving her taj 
believe, thftt Otir deafly beloved aon^ bavins represented to Us hiaq 
request that We wauld ^ant him aome certain income duria^hil ' 
life, in order that, t^hould he be unable to continue to lead th« 
n?lit(iouft life he has entered upon^ now that he ia a Catholic, be 
might have wherewith to shelter himself; and, admitting hia being 
unable to continue in hits calling, he, ettll in the same manne 
entreating Ua to grant him funds wliich he mi^ht diapome of ao-l 
cordinjj to bia ovm pious intentions. Wo have in this gr&nted all" 
his requests; but being unable to carry out these Onr wi&bea in 
Home, We have commanded him to repair to Faria to aome of 
Our frienda, and itom thence to proceed to Jenie^ or SouLhampion, 




ttiTTKfi TO rnt at^nnkz ov tbi 



wfrt 



where he will receive from TTb forty or fifty thon«and crowna 
wherewith to coDfltitute a fund, or which he may place in some 
batik. We have atao led her to believe that We have ordered him 
to aay nothing concerning; hia birth to the Very Reverenil Father, 
the Geueral of bis Order; hut that he ia merely to inform him 
that he b the &on of a rich minister who has heen dead eomo 
Httie time and that hia mother, being desirous to become a Catholic 
and of giving up to him his inheritance^ haa ^rtUi;n to him on 
the subject; and that yonr Very Reverend pAteniity, de^lroufl to 
further the spiritual Mvlfare of tliis person, and to receive her aa 
& GathoUCf ojid wiishiu^ alao that the aun ahoLild obtain hia inhe- 
ritance, will permit ttiis journey without s^y dilTiculty, Such are 
Our intentions and vi^iws. In this manner, the Quean concluding 
that nhe alone ia entrui^ted with thia secret, will have do motive 
to aacriJice any of the friendship she may entertain lor your Very 
Beverend Paternity; and in tnid manner aUo We will ^uard 
againat any suspicion abe might entertain that We hiui ordered 
Our son to come to Ua, or that we were a Catholic. And above alU 
h in neceaaary that he wait not for the Queen, but depart aa soon 
as possible; becana6f aa she i& in want of means (her wanta beini; 
BUch that she asked tliirty-five thousand crowna of the Swediah 
IKet in advance), ehe might ao entangle him that theatlaira which 
we have to treat would onW be treated unantisfactorily, Thift la 
whnt We hnd to eay on the enbject of the Queen of 8w«den. 
Your Very Reverend Paternity will not. therefore^ experience too 
great a ile^ree of a^toniBhment* for, if the sentiment of fear ia 
bestowed upon Ue tn order U> protect ub from the evils which 
surround us, it neceasarily bet-ome* greater and keener aa the Latter 
becomes f^raver, and more likely to produce diBaetrous results. At 
the present time* it is a triUh fully aj^reed upon by persona of the 
soundest judgment that of alt the evils that oould turr&und U» the 
certainty that we were a Catholic ttcmld be the greatest and the mo9t 
likeiy to eatinf our death, and, together with tt^ an infinity of tumult 
in Our Kingdom, Your Very Reverend Paternity will not, there- 
fore, be too f^eatly astoniahed if We take so many precautions. 
&nd have judged proper to write this second letter, aa welt on 
account of what concerns the Queen, as to make good any om^ia- 
Biona We have made in the f5r^t, and also to substitute some 
parts, such a£t, that our moeit dearly beloved &on i^ not lo present 
DtmaeVf to Our Beloved Cous$in, the Kinp: of France^ nor to Our 
most Honoured Sister, the Ducheas of Orleans, before he ahall 
b«re spoken to Va; but that he is simply to come to Ua through 
France, or Paris, or by any other way which your Very Reverend 
Paternity may be pleaaed to point out to him ; and that he is to 
write to the Queen of Sweden when on hit journey, lest she should 
perceive that Our meaaures of diBsimulation, connected with the 

SretexlA We have placed before her, had failed in their execution, 
uch is what we have rea^Mvod upon with theQueena: fearful lest 
»oy rumouTd of it should become noided abroad^ or any mis- 
ad venture arise. 

* And, as We are desirous, with all the prudence requiaite in a 
matter of such weij^hty importance to Us and to the peace of Our 
Kingdom, to facilitate for Our most dearly beloved euu all the 



262 



tHE JlSUITfi TH ORIAT BUtTAtK 



I 



nece&SAry m^ADA for the proflecuttQii of the mfttter of Our ftpintoni 
welfare; and lo avoid all the difficalties wbicb miKbt aride on thii 
BcorOf We h&xe d«cidedt with the QueetiA, th&t un hia ozriTal in 
JjOndon, io accordftnce with Our will and pleiuiure, be shall, with 
mil delay, Buitably prepare and clothe himself should the fear 
of soiling hifl dreeHj either by reason of bad weather or of the 
muddy «tat« of the roads, which are eueb as to break: do^ii a 
rarriage and injure tho?fl in it* have prevented hie doing so already, 
and ebal) then take the opportunity, b«in^ suitably prt^pared, U> 
preaent hiuicietf to the Queen Couaort, either when at Mass in Our 
Palace of 8l James, or when ^he ^oee to vieit Otir fiioat d«ar and 
honoured mother, to whom he will prej^ent a letter* sealed la a 
petition, in which h*^ will brietly slate who he la; and her Majeety 
baa received Our orders lo do what is noces^ary to introduce him ■ 
before Ua wilh all possible care: aiid We are certain thai nothinj^l 
unpleasant will ari^e, either in the shape of flii^picion or trouble: ■ 
there being little el^e for him to do but to allow hitneelf to be led 
nceording to the advice given him to obey Our orders, and to follow 
moflt ininutely what We have written^ njore especially under cover. 

"In the meantirao We renew the recitief^t We have already made 
(o your Very Reverend Paternity in Our lirst letter, not to write 
to Us» nnr to *end Us any answer, unless by the hands of Our 
moHt dearly beloved poti, whom We eoramand to leave Home a* 
t^oon fl.9 poF^^ible, as We are unwilling for Our reasons aforeaaid, 
that the Queen of Sweden should «peak with him. On leaving 
Rome, he will tmvel strnightway to Ub, and We request your Very 
Reverend Paternity to move nim to come quickly, representinjc 
Our need of him. We are aware that he does not like England, 
and W^e attribute this to bia not havinj; been brOQgbt Up there, 
and to bis having lived there aa an unknown jierson. ife lived 
in tt about a year^ and before its expiratiotif laid before Va such 
reasons, that we were fei^n to pernait hira to depart to Holland, 
where he conducted himself £0 as to merit much praise* and to 
Our entire satisfaction, both as regards polite letiera and other 
studies, in which he ba8 made the greatest pro6cieocy. 

"We believe htm to jioaBess so much discretion, that he will be 
far from disobeying Us in coming, which is what we desire of htm; 
and, as soon as he shall come, We will so manage, with the tty 
operation of the Queens, that we vill Aettw Attn Betr^tlv ordainid a 
pri^i; and if there should be anything wbicb the Bishop in Ordi* 
nary cannot carry out without the permission of his Holinees, let 
him not fail to see to it, in alt tecr^cy and in such a manner tlialH 
it may not be known who he is; and this he will do, if posstbleil 
before be leaves Rome, And in the meanwhile, We entreat Your 
Very Reverend Paternity to pray God for the Queens^ for Our 
Kingdom, and for Ouraelf, who are 



CHARLES, Kino OF Ewgianim 



" WHtTKHAU,, August 29. 1668." 



I 



It 19 impossible far any Honest- minded jnaji to read these 
letters without indignatioa &t the infamous conduct of the 



AK ntfOBTiKT SECBSt C0}3»EESE?<« 



263 



King, W« look m Tutn for any censure of his duplicity on 
the part of the Pope or the General af th« Jesuits, who were 
evidently well acquainted with hia rniderhand proceedings. 
The 6on referred to came to London as requested, with a 
certificate of hi^ identity in his pocket from the General of 
the Jesuits; but his after- proceeding? are, to a large extent, 
shrouded in tnystery. 

Charle« continued to gire eTidence of his goodwill towards 
the Papacy throughout his reigi^; but in nothing was this 
more clearly manifested than in his relations with Louis XIV., 
King of FTance. **0n the 25th of January, 1669,^' writes 
the author of the Life of (he First Earl of Shnfk$hury^ 
** the King held a aecret conference, in the Duke of York's 
house, with the Duke, who had lately embraced the Roman 
Catholic religion, Lord Arundel of Wardour, a Roman Catho- 
lic, and Arlington and Clifford, who were both, if not Roman 
Catholics, more or less disposed to that religion, and who 
both ended by adopting it; and on this occasion Charlea 
declared himself a Roman Catholic, expressed his grief at 
not being able publicly (o arow his religion, and, stating 
thai he wiahed to encounter the dilSculties while he was 
young and rigorous, asktd advice as to the means of esiabltBh'- 
ing the Roman Catholic rdlgion in England.''^ ^ This state- 
ment IB confirmed by Uie testimony of the Duke of York 
himself, who further relates that he: 

"Well knowinj^ that the l^ing woa of the same tniud |«.0., to 
declare hiraeeLf a Komnn CAtbolic], and that his Mfljeaty had 
opened himself upon it to Lord Aruudel of Wftrdour, Lord Arling- 
ton, and Sir Thomas Cli^ord, took an ocoaakm lo discourse with 
him upon that subject at the t^nme time, And found himTe«olv«d 
M to bti being a OathoUCj nnd very een^ible of the uncaaineBS it 
was to him to live in so much danfr^r and conelraitit : and that be 
intended to have a private me^tinie: with those pereonn aliove 
named, at the Puke » closet, to arivixe itnth thevi uboui the watfi 
and m€thod^ fit to h€ iakm^ /or advatujing the Catholic rtlif^m% in AtJ 
dofi»ntor)4, b^in^; resolved not to live any longer in the cnnstraiut 
he waa under. ThiA meeting was on the 25th of January* the day 
which the Church celebrates the Convereion of St. Paul 

I X*/r ft/ tkt /rtt Eart 0/ SAa/!Hbmrf. Bv W, D. Cfemlii. *oI. U.. ji. Ifi. 



264 



THK JESUITS II GHKiT BfilTAtlt 



** When ihef wer« met according to the Klag'd ftppointmeiit, he 

declared his miDd lo them in the matter of reli^fion, and r«pe»ied 
whal he had newly before sjiid to the Duke — fwio ufu^uy ii uku iff 
him Tia( to pro/em the faith he believed, and that he had called them 
together to have their ftdrice &bout the wayii atid m^^thcKlB fitwt 
to be taken for the settling of the Cattiolic religion in his King- 
doiDH, and to consider of the time moat proper to declare hit^selir 
tellin}^ iheui withal, that no time ouf^ht to be loat; that he was 
to expect to Tueet with many axul j^e.at dit!i(}uUied in britging it 
atiout, and that he chose rather to undertake It now, vhen he 
and his brother were In their fuU strength and able to undergo 
any fjiligiie, than to delaj it untiS thej were grown older, and 1666 
lit to go throufrh with so j^eat a deeign. This he spake with great 
earnegineee, and even with teora in hiA ey&a: and added* thai thejr 
were to j(o ahout it as wise men and ^ood Catholics ought to do. 
*' The conaultation last«d long, and the result was that there was 
DO better waj for doing this great work, than to do vl in conjunc- 
tion with FniDce and with the a^siatatice of Hh Most Ghn^tiau 
Majesty; the Hohsq of Auatria not being in a conJitiou to help 
in it; and, in pursuance evf thia resolution, Montf, de Cmissy Ool- 
bert, the French AnibaA^indor, was to he entrusted with the secrai 
in order to inform hi^ master of it, that he might receive a power 
to treat about it with our King/'* 



I 



Charles held several secret iutarviews with the French 
Ambassador on the subject, in which th^j plotted the 
destruction of the Protestant religion of England by force 
of arms. In a despatch to Louis XIV., dated November 13th, 
1669, Colbert tells kia Master that in a secret interview be 
had with Charles; 

'* He told me that he believed I must bare thought that he and 
those to whom he bad entrusted the conduct of this affair, were 
ftll fools to pretend to re-establiah the Catholic religion in England; 
that, in effc'ct, every versed person in the a^ttirs of his Kingdom, and 
the humour of his people, ought to have the same thought; bttt 
that, after all« he hoped that with your Majesty's support^ thid 
great undertakinyr would have a happy success. That the Presby- 
teriane and all the other sects, had a greater averriion to tbe English 
Church than to the Catholica. That all the aect&ried desired only 
the free exercise of their religion, and provided they could obtain 
it, as it wiis his design they should, tney would not Dpp>08e his 
intended change of religion. That besides^ he has some good 
troopa strongly attached to him, and if the deceased King his 
father had had aa many, he would have stifled in their birth those 
troubles that caused his ruin* That he would still augment aa 
much as possible his regiments and compauieSf under ike matt 

* Lf/g of Jamfi the See&ndi ColltfLel out of Mfimoici wrtt of fail ova hand. 
Edit«a bj ttic fkr. J. S, Clvke, vol i., pp, 44l» ^^^ 



\ 



THE SBCRET T&EATT OP D^TEE 



26S 



^•p^mujt prtifixis he could dems^: thftt all the magazines of arm* art 

HbI his di«posAl, and till well tilled. That he waa tiure of tbe p»r)ncipal 

^^blaces in England and Scotlaud: that the Goveruor of liuil waa 

^^B CuthoUc; thiht thoae of ForUoiouth, Plymouth and mimv other 

^^raliu^es he D»med» a-inoag th« re»t Windsor, would never depart 

frum the duiv ihey ovred him : th&t aa to the troop:i in IreUud, ha 

hoped the i^uke of Ormond, who had very great credit there, 

would he always faithful to him; and that thouf^h the Duke, not 

»p|jrovitit{ tUiis change of reli^on, should fail in his duty, iny 

jJ^rd Orrury, who waa a Catholic in his heart, and who had stitl 

ft greater power m Ih&t arrnv» would lead it wherever he ahould 

c<jmTiiand him. That your Sfajesty'a friendship, of which he had 

the most oblij;in^ proofa in the world by the aiiawera i^ivew to hia 

propo^alA, and with which he assured me he was entirely eatidtied^ 

would aUo be of ^reat service to him; aud in shorty he told mo 

that he wad pressed both by his conscieuce, and by the confusion 



hich he saw increaaing from day to day iu his Kitii^dom, lo the 
iminution of hia authority, to declare himself a Catholic*" ' 



^_.thi 

■g h 

■ ' ■ 

^H It is noiewortliy that^ all the while tbia evil plot was 

^^being prepared, the couutry ktiew notlutig at all about it, 

and, in & state of fancied security, was really sleeping on a 

feolc&^o. At last the negotiations between Charles IL and 
pouis XIV, ended in the Treaty of Dover, of which James IL 
writes; — ''The Treaty waa not finally concluded and signed 
till &V}Out the beginning of 1670, the purport of which was, 
that the French King was to give .^200,000 a year, by 
quarterly payments, the first of which to begin when the 
Hntifications were exchanged, to enahie the King to begin th& 
^■ipori: in England; that when the dtfholic religion was seUied 
here^ our King was to join with France in making war 
upon Holland. . - - ' All this w(ts tramsUded with the iasti secrec^^ 
find in jireparation thereunto, Colonel Fitzgerald ^ lately come 
I from Tangier, where he had been Governor^ was to have a 
^Bew regiment of foot prepared for him, and such officers 
^<bhosen for it &a might be confided in. . . . The rigorous 
Church of England men were let loose and encouraged 
underhand to prosecute according to the law the Noncon-* 



¥ 



1 Mgmwt of Or^mt Britain. Bj Sir JohTi Oajrymple, Secornl EUitioD, 1789, 
Ap|ieaihx, p. 39, 

* KollAod wu A p£ot«itKiit utton, lod tlLfifelore it vu actesMfX lliat it ihonid 



2G6 



THE srMmr& iM otLEir BiuTAfff 



I 



I 



formisis, to the end that these might be the more seiisihl« 
of the ease they should hare wheti the Catholics prevailed/^ ' 
The author of The Secret Hinionj of thf Court and Reign of 
Vharlts 11.^ published in 1792, states that ** Lord Anmdel 
of Wardour, a declared PspUt, was the person appointed to 
go to Paris, with full instructions; and nmte r^f the Ministry 
or Council were admitted into the 9fcrH, but Arliagtoo, 
Clifi'oTdf and Sir Richard Bealing, who were all tlomaa 
Catholics. '^^ The first article of this Secret Treaty of 
Dover was as follows: — 

** Art, L The Kin^ of Great Brit«>ia being convinced of the truth 
of the Catliolie religion, and reenlved to cf-ar^re htm^lf « CathoUc, 
and to reconcile himjckelf to the Chorch of Rome, thinka the assist^ 
ance of Hii Most Chriatian Majesty may be necessury to facihtale 
Iho execution of bia denial. It jr, therefore, agreed and concluded 
open, thnt His Moat Christian Majesty ahRll supply the King of 
England, before the «aid dftclaratior;, with the sum of £200,000 
et^rling, one-half to be paid in three months After the mtificiition 
of the present Treaty, and the other half in tliree mouths more: 
and further that Hia Most Christlftn Majesty shall aseitJt th« King 
of England ttiih troops an4 tnorii^, as there may be oc<:j«ioD, ta 
case the mid Kituf*s ttifJecU »h<iuid not acqitkitce in ih^ laid dfdarO' 
iion aitd rebel against ki$ aaid Britannic Majesty ^ which is not 
thought likely,*' * ~ 



The reading of this secret article of the Dover Treaty 
greatly moved the indignation of the late Lord John Kussell. 
*^It is impossible, ^^ he wrote, '^to read this article without 
indignation at the unprincipled ambitioUf the shameless 
venality, and the cool hypocrisy of Charles. For the sake 
of public tranquillity an army of Frenchtneti was to be intro- 
duced into England, to force the nation to embrace a religion ■ 
they detested! The holy uaiae of God is uaed for the pur- 
pose of sanctioning the subjugation of a free people by the 
assistance of a foreign power! Such was the return which 
a King of the Uouse of Stuart thought fit to make to a 
country which had received him with unlimited confidence, 

" Lift f>f /amn tL, tpL i., ^\u *42-Jig. 

* Jiecret Hutarif it/ tAe Cwt «/ Gk^rUt H.^ Vut, it,, Sijj»|»Irmrtil [>. 3. 

* Ihtd., p. 4. 



I 



THI 8ECKET TftEATIf OF DOTEtt 267 

Neither the affection which the people had shown to his 
person, nor the general duty of a Sovereign to his subjects, 
nor the solemn obligation of an oath, were sufficient to 
restrain Charles from signing a treaty, which will ever re- 
main a monument of ingratitude, perjury, and treason. And 
as his offence cannot be justified, so neither can it be 
palliated. He was not obliged, whatever he might allege, by 
the unreasonable demands or unquiet humours of his people, 
to fiy to foreign protection : his perfidy was as spontaneous 
as it was unexampled.'* ' 

The chief instrument used in securing the signing of the 
Secret Treaty of Dover, was the sister of Charles, the Duchess 
of Orleans, a devout Roman Catholic. She came over to 
Dover for the purpose, and on her return to Paris she was 
specially entertained at an Opera, in which the author, a 
M. St. Ange, addressed her thus: — "It is Arom your heaven- 
like wisdom to manage your Royal brother^s tender soul, 
that we expect the happiest of consequences. It is from the 
torch of your love to our Catholic Apostolic Church, we hope 
to see his Britannic Mayesty^s zeal to the ancient religion of 
his ancestors take flame, by the sympathy of a nearest relation. 
We long with somewhat of impatience for the happy result 
of your consultations; we doubt not to see that monster 
heresy lie grovelling at our invincible Monarch's and your 
brother's feet, and her supporters expiring in chainsJ*^ ' 

By the Treaty of Dover Charles engaged to join with 
Louis XIV. in a war against Holland, whose Protestantism 
was an object of hatred to both Kings. Under false pretences 
the English Parliament was induced to vote large sums of 
money to carry on this war, but this was supplemented by 
lai^e grants of money from the King of France. 

With the hope that the Roman Catholics, Presbyterians 
and Dissenters would rally round him, Charles, shortly before 
commencing this war, issued a Declaration of Indulgence, 

1 TAf Ufe of Wiiiiam lord BmwIL By Ix>rd John RuMell. 4th ed., p. 47. 
* Oldmiion*! Sfcret HUiory of Snrope, Part I., p. 104. Seeood Editioo. 



TOE JBStnn ni g&bat BRiTAm 



\^ 



by which be suspended the execution of the penal taws ugainst 
Eoinan Catholics and Nonconformists, allowing the latter to 
publicly hold Divine services in liceofied btiildings, and the 
former to have services in private houses, and to be exempted 
from the penalties to which they were subjected by law. 
Bishop Buruet says the Fresbyteriana thanked the King for 
bis Declaratiun* but, apparently, they afterwards changed 
tbeir mindf for Rapin a-^suros us that; — ^^The King and the 
Cabftl were extremely mistaken in imagining that the Decla- 
ration for Liberty of Conscience would gain the Presbyteriana, 
in return for ao great a favour* The leaders of the Presby- 
teriansi were too wiae to be taken in so palpable and dan- 
gerous a snare. It was easy for them to see, they were 
Ottly designed for instruments to advance the interests of the 
Romish religion. When they reflected that this favour was 
received from the Kiog, the Duke of York, and the members 
of the Cabal, they could not believe it flowed from a prin*- 
eiple of religion or humanity. They saw, besideSf ao many 
extraordinary proceedingiif so many invasions on the righta 
of the people; the Papists indulged in their religion; the 
King making exorbitant demands upon his Parliament; an 
army encamped at the very gates of London in the midst 
of winter; a war begun to destroy the only Protestant State 
capable of supporting religion, and Papists in the principal 
posts; all tins sufficiently demonstrated that the suspension 
of the Penal laws was not for their sake." ' 

With a portion of the money obtained from the King of 
France, and a gran t obtain ed from h is own Parliamen t 
by false pretences, Charles set to work to form an army 
likely to do his bidding, and carry out his plans. Oq 
this scheme a writer of the period, whom I have already 
cited, remarks: — "And now the Ein;^, having got the money 
in his hands, a new project was set on foot, to set up an 
army in England for the introduction of slavery and Popery, 



1 lUplii** Bitiffry e/ Sitffaitd, voK lu, pp. 38(?, 38S. 



i FOPISH iKHr AT BtACCHKATH 



269 



under pretence of lanrling m Holland ; which was raised 
with all the eipeditioa imagmable; aver whidi» a Colonel 
Fitzgerald, an Irish Papist, was made Major-General, so were 
the greatest number of the Captaius and other officers of 
the same stimp/* * 

"Nor were they i^orant of the real design for which the King 
bad milled his Army* iitid whrtt care the Kin^ mid hi« brother timk, 
that there should be no other ofiioei'S in thftt army than what were fit 
for ihe work in hand, which waa to iulroviueu Popery and FroAoh 
povemroent by main force; four part* of the five oeing downright 
F^ipists^ or eUe such as resolved fto lo be upon the least intitnaCion, 
The Duke [of York] recoranaending &U such as be know tit for 
the turn, aud no less than a hundred eommiaaions beinj^ aijrned. 
bv Secretary W, to Irish Papists to raise Forcei!^ iiotwvth;>tanding 
the late Actf by which means both the land and Ifaval Forces 
were in safe handa; and to complete the work, hardly a Judge^ 
Justice of the Peace, or &ny officer in England but what w&b of 
the Duke*a promotion. Nor were they ipnorant of the private 
tiej^otiationa carried on by the Puke, with tlie Kind's conutv&nce, 
with the Pope and Cardinal Norfolk ^ who had undertaken to raise 
nvoney from tha Church sntficient to supply the King'a wantt, 
till the work were done* in case Parliament should emoke their 
deaijTTii and refuso to ^ive any more. Nor waa the FArliament 
i^niorant what great rejoicm^ tlicire waa in I^ome itself, to hoar la 
what a poeture hia Majesty waa, and how well provided of an army 
mnd money to begin the buaineia." * 

There is an entry in Ef^elyii^s Diart/^ under date^ June 10, 
1673f about this Army: — ** We went after dinner to see th« 
formal and formidable camp on Blackheath, raised to invade 
Holland, or, aa othera suspected, for another design,'* 

The schemes of Charles IL for restoring Popery in Eng- 
land were greatly facilitated through the presence in his 
Court and in his Governnient of a nunibcr of men who were, 
like himself, secretly Roman Catholics. Professor Masson 
calk attention to some of" these men, when writing about 
the events of this period. 

"The condition of things in Charlea^^a Court/* writes 
Haason^ "from August 1662 onwards had been peculiarly 
favourable for the resuscitation in \iia mind of the idea of 



270 



TEE JteviTa nr osgat 0itiT&iN 



exchanging his crypto-Catholieism for an open profession of 
the Roman Catholic faith. His new Queen had her chapel, 
her priests, and Confessors; his mother, Queen Henrietta 
Maria, who had come orer again from France, to make the 
acquaintance of the new Queen, and to trj how long she 
could staj in England, had also brought Roman Catholic 
priesta nnd aeriants in her train ; the number of avovred 
Roman Catholics at Court, and the conveniences for RozxttB 
Catholic woi-ship there, had been largely increased/' 



she 

olic ■ 
red I 



**And 80» though cuuveraions among the ProteataDlA of the Court 
were not yet tniich he&rd of, the state of mind which we bftve 
called cr^'plo*CathQlici9ni,coimi&tlng io a secret inclination to Komiin 
CiithnUciam nnd A willingness to ^o over Co it openly if there 
should erer be suflScient occasion, had come greatljr into fAshion. 
There were now many crypto-Calholics at Court beeides Chartee 
himeelf. Lady Ca-stlemaine was one ; penp pt {aftfttW*H g_ Lgr d 
AfliDKtQol w itg^ tt pother; Berkeley wa« another; indeed, I l>ej^e- 
nieblly 



fJlDEt _^ ^^ 

I Tr m Iba t'Zgiitberej ^ ^nTgbtly in _Lady C^tjgmflinfe'jt Api^ -tmanta^ 
"wliero ClareTifforT itiitJ ttouttifinipioii difiiiaiaed to be seen, may be 
described aa the crypto* Catholic factioUi There v^A^ajofianing, 



I 



therefore, in th« i ptr^wucuon ofBennet i nto the ministry ae Secf*- 
tAry of State instead oFXiclioW. aodin the promotion of Berkeley 
in the Household in October 1062, They were sipristhat the King 
wad atrengthening the cryplo-Cfttholic interest, and building it up 
about him/'* 

The part which Charles took in the famoaa Popish Plot f 
of 1678 brings lasting diagrace on his memory, for be 
Bigned the death-warrants of many Roman Catholics^ executed 
for their alleged complicity in that Plot^ wliile all the time 
he, at least, believed that they were innocent of the charges 
brought against them by Titus Oates and liis fellows. The 
torrent of Protestant opinion was so strong that he yielded 
to it merely to save him&olf from public odium. I nee^ 
not enter here at any length into particulars coxiceming this 
Popish Plot, for I believij thoae who were at the bottom 
of it were nothing better than a aet of scoundrels, who^e 
words were quite unworthy of credence. It is true there 
was a Tery real and dangeroua Popish Plot going on at the 



0D*« It/i ^f Miii&m, voK ^i^> p %$fi. 



THE TITTJS OlTEfl POPISH PLOT 



271 



time, uTider the ^dance of tbe Jesuits; but this of Titus 
Gates was qult^ a di^ereut affair. 

The teatimoiij of Bishop Burnet, the author of the well 
known IJhtortf of the Be/armatton^ as to Gates' Plot is of 
great im]iortance. His ProtestaEtism cannot be doubted. 
Tbe Bishop boasts that he was more capable to give an account 
of the Plot than any man he knew* ^ He gives a very 
black character inde€d of Titus Gates; of whom he states 
that: — "He was proud and ill-natured, haughty^ but ignorant 
He conversed much wiUi SocinisnSj and he had been com- 
plained of for some very indecent expressions concerning the 
mysteries of the Christian religion. He was once presented 
for perjury. But be got to be a Chaplain in one of the 
King's shipE?, from which he was dismissed upon complaint 
of some unnatural practices, not to be named/' " " I could 
have no regard to anything he either said or swore after 
that^^ ' " Indeed Gates and Eedlow did, by theJr behaviour, 
detract more from their own credit than all their enemies 
could have done. The former talked of all persons with 
insuperable insolence; and tbe other was a scandalous 
libertine in his whole deportment.'' ' 

The testimony of Evelyn, whose love for tbe Protestant 
cause cannot be doubted, (and who was present at the trials 
of several of the alleged plotters) is worthy of consideration. 
On July 18, 1679, be wrote in his diary: — "For my part, 
1 look on Gates as a vain insolent man, puffed up with 
the favour of the Commons for having discovered something 
really true, more especially as detecting the dangerous in* 
trigue of Coleman, proved out of his own letters, and of a 
general desiprn which the Jesuited party of the Papists ever 
bad, aud still have, to ruin the Church of England; but 
that he was trusted with those great secrets he pretended, 
or had any solid ground for what he accused divers noblemen 
of, I have many reasons to induce my contrary belief. That 

I U«nieL*t History of AiM Ouf* Timg, vol. ii.. p. U4. KJ. Oifonl. 19S3. 
1 ma., p. 146. » /*iX, p. 16L * Jhd., p. HB. 



272 



TDt iSSUtTS IK GIUIT BB1TAI9 



Among SO many Cammissioas &s He affirmed to hare delivered 
to them from P, Olira [Gaaenil of tlie Jesuits] and tlie 
Pope, he who made no scruple of opening all other papers, 
letters, and secrets^ should not onlj not open any of those 
pretended Commissions, but not so much as take any copy 
or witness of &ny one nf them^ is almost miraculous/' 
Writing again in his diary, on June 18, 16S3, Erelyn 
remarks: — '*The Popish Plot also, which had hitherto made 
Buch a noise, began now sensibly to dwindle, through the 
folly, knaTcry, impudence, and giddiness of Gates, ^' 

The fact that there are still to be found amongst us some 
Protestants who beliere that every word nttered by Titoe 
Gates was true and reliable, makes it necessary to gt?e 
here several extracts from the opinions of men of note, 
whose Protestantism is unquestioned. I have just cited 
Bumet and Evelyn. Now lei ns see whnt that great modem 
Historian, RaDke, has to say on this subject :— "About the 
plans that had been formed for the re-establishment of 
Catholicism in England upon the death of the King, Gates 
made statements which contradict the actual position of 
affairs; they are without doubt false. Gates had been from 
his youth up notorious for the most shameless untruth fulneaa. 
He had a passion for startling people, aod giving himself 
importance by boastful and lying exaggerations* which he 
spiced w ith in v ecti ve on e very si de, an d co nfirm ed with 
wild oaths: he was a small man with a short neck, and a 
mouth strikingly out of proportion ; people were careful not 
to contradict him, b& they were afraid of quarrelling with 
him. He mixed up what he knew with what ho only 
guessed, or what seemed to him serviceable for his schemeSi 
and he was believed by alh Ilia successful shamelessness 
stirrod up emulators, of whom Bedlow was one. But still 
it cannot be aMrmed that all they alleged was mere inven* 
tion. * There was some truth in it,' as Dryden says, *but 
mixed with lies/ Moreover, the fact that much of what 
they said as to matters which no one suspected proved true, 



I 

I 
I 



( 



INFAMOUS CHABiCTKR OF TrTUS 0ATB8 273 

led people to accept also the monstrous things they gave 
out. Coleman*s correspondence, which Oates first described 
and afterwards discorered, especially forwarded this im- 
pression.*' ' 

"Rational men, we suppose/* writes Lord Hacaulay, in 
his Essay on Mackintosh's History of the Eevolution, " are 
now fully agreed that by far the greater part, if not the 
whole, of Oates^s story was a pure fabrication. It is indeed 
highly probable that, during his intercoiu^e with the Jesuits, 
he may have heard much wild talk about the best means 
of re-establishing the Catholic religion In England, and that 
from some of the absurd day-dreams of the zealots with 
whom he was associated he may have taken hints for his 
narratives. But we do not believe that he was privy to 
anything which deserved the name of conspiracy. And it 
is quite certain that, if there be any small portion of truth 
in his evidence, that portion is so deeply buried in falsehood 
that no human skill can now effect a separation."' 

The opinion of one more eminent historian I must quote, 
before I pass on. Hallam terms the Papal Plot " the great 
national delusion;" but he is careful to add: — ''It is first 
to be remembered that there was really and truly a Popish 
Plot in being, though not that which Titus Oates and his 
associates pretended to reveal — not merely in the sense of 
Hume, who, arguing from the general spirit of proselytism 
in that religion, says there is a perpetual conspiracy against 
all governments, Protestant, Mahometan, and Pagan, but one 
alert, enterprising, effective, in direct operation against the 
established Protestant religion in England. In this Plot 
the King, the Duke of York, and the King of France were 
chief conspirators; the Romish priests, and especially the 
Jesuits, were eager co-operators. Their machinations and 
their hopes, long suspected, and in a general sense known, 

1 Rankc'i ffUtory of England, to]. W., p. 60. 

> lard MacMvU^U Warkt, vol. ri., p. 106. EdiabuTigli Ildition, 1897. 

18 



27i 



THK JESUITS m QKEiT BBITim 



were divulged by tJie seizure smi publication of Ca1eniaii*s 
letters/' ' 

This real Popish Plotj which centred round the name of 
Edward Coleinan^ it is now our duty to notice briefly. Colemaii 
was private Secretary to the Duchess of York, who w«8 ft 
liomanCsthgliCf aod while acting in that ca^mcity, he carried on 
a trensonable correspondence with French Jesuits, a Papal Nun* 
cio, the Cardinal of Norfolk, and other English Roman Catho- 
lica residing on the Continent. He was arrested on the eridence 
of Titus Onte9^ who^ at hia trial, swore that Coleman bad 
formed a plot to murder the King* Now the Jeauits mu^ 
hare known very veil that Charles was himself a Roman 
Catholic, and it certainly was not to their iuteireat to destroy 
him. Aa we have seen, the evidence of Titus Oates is 
not to be trusted. When Coleman was arrested there was 
found in hia house his treasonELble letters, hy means 
of which this very real plot of his and the Jesuits came 
out. The letters seized on his premiaes were shortly 
after published by authority, in two parts. As a rule they 
were very obscure, purposely so, no doubt^ but this at least 
may be gathered from their contend. The aid of the 
French King was sought by the Duke of York, through the 
instrumentality of Coleman, in order that by destroying the 
power of the English Parliameut, the Duke might be placed 
in a position of supreme power in England, the King being 
but a cypher in his hands. It was thought by the con- 
spirators that if the French King would grant to the Duke 
a sum of -^00,000, he, with that money, would be able to 
induce Charles to do whatever the King of France and the 
Jesuits wished ; or, as Coleman put it to the Nuncio, in a 
letter dated October 2, 1674:— "But if the Duke, or any 
other, could show of a sudden some other way what would 
effectually help him [Charles II.] to money, he would let 
himself be governed entirely by him, and in this case the 



I 



1 HaIUid'i OmtiitMtion^ HiHptfQf Bn^imid, vol. \U |i. 433. Eiffhlh fiditia«,l 



CCI'EHAN a BtAL JESUIT PLOT 



275 



Duke would have all power over him ; " ' for, as Coleman 
wrot« to the same correspondent on October 23» 1674: — 
^*You agree with ma that money is the only means of 
bringing the King [Charles] into the Duke's interest, ami nf 
disengaging him froni the Parliament, nnd you must abo agree 
with me that nothing can more promote the interest of the 
Catholic party, which is the principal object of the Duke's 
care and affection. ... I am certain money eould not fail of 
persuading him [Charles] to it, for th^re is nothing it cannot 
make him do/' ' If Louis XIV would only help the Duk^t 
the Duke promiBed to b<* for ever devoted to the French 
interests. What the Duke aimed at he had made known, a 
few years previously, to Colbert, the French Ambassador at 
the English Court, in a private interview in which (so Colbert 
wrote to Louis XIV.) he said that " affairs are at present 
here in auch a situation as to make him believe that a King 
and a Parliament can eiist no longer together. That nothing 
should be any longer thought of than to make war upon 
[Protestant] Holland, as the only means left without having 
recourse to Parliament* to which they ought no longer to 
have recourse till the war and the Catholic fnith had come 
to an happy lasne, and when they should b^ in a condition 
to obtain hij forcf^ what they could not obtain by mildness/' ' 
Of all the letters found in Coleman's hou^e none caused 
greater excitement and indignation^ than one addressed hy 
him to Father I^e Chase^ the French King's Jesuit Con- 
fessor '*We have here/' wrote Coleman, '*a mighty work 
upon our hands, no le«s than the conversion of three King- 
dome, and by that, perhaps^ the subdoing of a pestilent 
heresy, which has domineered over great part of this northern 
world a long time. There were never such hopes of success 
once the death of Queen Mary, as now in our days; when 
God has given ua a Prince who is become (may I say, a 

» Coiiectio% of lettrrt JUiatittg io (ht Rarrid royuk f(9i, P*rl II., p. ^ 

» Itid., Pirt I., pp. 12, 13. 

* DaJrjiDplei Mfmotn of Grett Britam* AppendU 30, 



276 



TCe JlSUiTS IK GEft&t BElTiilf 



miracle) zealous of being the author and instrument of so glori- 
ous a work. But the opposition we are come to m^et witli^ 
is also like to be great ; so that it imports us to get all tiie 
fLii and assistance we cao, for Hhe Hardest is great, and 
the Labourers but few-* '* ' 

Coleman was put upon his iriai for High Treason., for 
having conspired the death of the King^ and holding a 
treasonable correspondence haying for its object the destruc- 
tion of the Proteiitant religion by political weapons^ Colemaa 
admitted the correspondence, but denied that he had e?er 
plotted the murder of the King, The evidence ag&inat bira 
for plotting the King's death was that of Oates and Bedlow 
only, which ought never to have been accepted. He was 
condemned to death, and suffered the last penalty, proclaim* 
ing his ijmocence of the chief crime. But that he was 
guilty of High Treason for holding the correspondence 
there can be no doubt whatever, and the punishment of 
that crime vras then, and atiU is, that of death. It cajinot 
be truthfully pleaded that he was a martyr to the Roman 
Catholic faltb, aince although he waa accused of an attempt 
to destroy the Protestant religion in England, yet it waa 
to be done by foreign money and by brute force. Were 
any one now charged witii this offence, be would be severely 
punished, not for trying to overthrow Protestantism, but 
for trying to do it 6y unlawful means. Coleman and hk 
fellow-conspirators were really lnying dangerous plans for 
making war on Farlianient and the liberties of the people, 
and for this he deserved to die. Of course the Jesuits ever 
since have held him in high esteem \ and it is remarkable 
that Leo Xlll. has raised him to the ranks of the ** Vener- 
able/' as a preliminary to his eventual canonization! This 
modern glorification of a traitor by the Papacy, shows that it 
still retains its old position, honouring most those whose lack 
of loyalty to a Prole^tant government is most conspicuous. 

■ Coiftchv* cj leU*r9 iietvfm^ tc tkt Bwrid FcjpU* I^, Twti L, p. lU 



I 



I 



DEATH OF CHABLX8 11. 277 

Charleses miserable life of deception continued to the end 
of his dajs on earth. He even practised this abominable 
deception on his death-bed^ for he then willingly received 
the religious ministratiops of Bishops of the Church of 
England, reinsing onlj to receive the sacrament at their 
hands, and that on the false excuse that there was *'time 
enough," ^ and therefore he would think about it. No 
sooner had the Bishops left the dying-chamber than a Roman 
Catholic priest was sent for, who heard his confession, and 
absolved him, and afterwards gave him the last sacraments 
of the Ghorch of Borne* 

1 Cmi4ndt of SiKsri Pt^4rt, fol. i., p. 4. 



CHAPTER I 



THE FORMATION OF THE JESUIT ORDEE 



I 



Sfuh considers it a greftt honour that she gave biriii to 
the fonnder of the Society of Jesus. To a great eitent it 
must be admitted that the honour has proved a barren one. 
There are those who suppose th&t departed Saints of an 
eminent character, have it in their power to assist the 
country of their birth through their intercessions. If this bo 
so, there i^ reason to fear that the founder of the Jesuit 
Order haa neglected his duty since leaving this world, for 
it is ft remarkable fact that ever since his death Spain has 
been on the decline both spiritually and temporally, until 
at present she h one of the most sorely afflicted nations 
of Europe. 

Neither the month, nor the day of the mouth in which 
Ignatius. Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was bom, is known, 
but the year was 1491, eight years after the birth of Luther. 
Ignatius was not his Christian name, that he gave up when 
he entered on his religious career. He was bom in the ^ 
Castle of Loyola, near the small town of Azpeytia, in the f 
Province of Guipuscoa, and was baptised in the name of 
Eneco. He was of noble birth* There is but Tery little 
known of his early life. It is, however, recorded that he 
became a page in the Court of Ferdinand the Catholic, where 
he fell de^^peratety in love with a young lady of high 
station, whose identity has not been established, and guve 
himself up to worldly vanities and enjoyments. In his 
love-sick condition he wrote poetry, which he sent to her» 
And aeema to have done his best to secure her loTe ia 




lABLT Ltn OP mKATive lotoli 



27& 



return, no doubt with the hope of eventually marrying her. 
By a remarkftble coincidence, in the rery year that Lather 
begfan his war against the Pope, in 1517, by nailing up his 
celebrated Thesis on the church door of Wittenberg^ Loyola 
first took up the prof^asion of a soldier. Four years later 
he took part in the defence of Pampeluna, against the French, 
during which he showed more than the average amount of 
courage, but un f ortun ate I y for b ini ael f , be was seriously 
wounded during the siege, and made a prisoner by the 
French. This memorable event took place on May 20, 1521, 
and led to his enforced retirement from public life for a 
considerable period. Again it is interesting to note another 
coincidence. Only a month preTiously Luther also had to 
retire for a period frora public life (ailer his brave protest 
at the Diet of Worms) to the Castle at Wartbnrg. But 
how different the occupations of the two men during their 
retirements Luther was occupied in translating the Bible 
into German, a grand and noble work ; while unhappy 
Loyola was spending his time in constantly thinking about 
his lady love, and, subsequently, in reading the Lites of the 
S(^intt] There is no reason to doubt that Loyola's decision, 
formed while recovering from the severe illness brought on 
by his wounds, to devote himself to a Monastic Life, was 
caused by despair of ever gaining the hand of the lady oa 
whom he had bestowed his affections. Monasteries and 
Conventa are very much indebted to the same cause for an 
increase in the number of their inmates. It is stated by 
several of the biographers of Loyola, that after he had 
decided to give up his worldly life, the Virgin Mary 
^appeared to bim one night with the Child Jesus in her 
mnns,*^ but we may well doubt this, if it were only on 
the ground that our Saviour hod ceased to be a ** child'* 
many long centuries before. Possibly it was a dream, the 
result of the fever from which he was then recovering. 
However that may be, it is certain that his illDess formed 
m taming-point in his career, which affected the whole of 



S80 



TBS JESUIT! Vf QBKAT BBITAIlf 



hid subsequent life. He decided that he would go barefoot 
on a pilgrimage io Jemsalem, and on bis rekira he wouU 
enter a house of the Carthusians at Seville. 

Eartj ID 1522 Loyola hfi his home on bm journey to- 
wards Jerusalem^ He was too weak to walk, and wws ihere- 
foie obliged io travel at first on a inule. After risiting 
some of his relatives on the way, he at length arrived at 
the monastery of Mont&errat, where he passed the eight at 
H famous shrine of the Virgin, after havbg firet of all 
divested himself of the rich attire suited to his rank, and 
pat on instead the rough coarse dress of a poor pilgrim. 
We next find him at the town of Manresa, where he stayed 
for about four months, wearing a hair shirt all the time, 
and an iron-^-spiked chain as a girdle next his sJciQ* Three 
times a day he acourged himself until the blood came, and 
after that he lay down at night on the bare ground, with 
a block of stone or wood as his pillow, ^^jobf thinking 
that in this way he could do something towards atoning for 
his sins. He removed from Manresa to a cave a short dis- 
tance from the town, where he took up his abode, lying at 
night on the damp floor, and adding to his other mortifica- 
tions the lunatic occupation of beating his breast w;th n 
stone 1 The result of such a course of proceeding naturally 
affected his health, and brought on what we in nodem 
times term ^* a iit of the blues.'* He saw deTils and rE sorts 
of horrible thingSp and was tormented ao much in his mind 
that he seems to have nearly gone mad. While liere he 
seems to have conceived his first idea of forming the Jesuit 
Order, and before leaving he wrote a considerable portion 
of those Spiritual Exfrcises which are still in use in all the 
Colleges of the Order throughout the world. Amongst 
other wonderful things said to have happened ie him at 
this time, it is recorded that a statue of the Virgin spoke to 
him, though what she said is not reported. ' 



I 



I 



I 
I 



li/e of Si, Ifn4tiiui UyuU B7 Sl«nwl R^sr^ p. Al. Kditi«a IStfl, 



T^NATIUS OK Hlfi TBAYELS 



281 



After a a^ay of tGn months at Maaresa, Lojola started 
aguin on his travek in Januaiy, 1523, He knew neither 
Latin nor Italian, and as he purposed passing through Italy 
tkts no doubt added greatly to the difficulties of the journey. 
At Barcelona a lady asked him where he was going, to 
which he replied that he was going to Rome. **To Rome,^^ 
she exclaimed. ** Those who go to Rome seldom come back 
the better for their visif — a clear indication of the opinion 
then formed of the wickedness of the city which wa3 the 
head centre of the Papacy. His stay at Rome was very 
brieft and after obtaining a pilgrim^s licence from the Pope^ 
together with his benediction, Loyola started once more on 
his travels, and at length arrived at Jaffa, on August 31. 
From there* with other pilgrima, he made the journey to 
Jerusalem, riding on an as&. He had intended to take up 
Ins permanent abode in the city, and to devote himself to 
the work of converting the Tnrks to Christianity. It seems 
a pity now that he did not get his way, for this would 
probably have saved the world a vast amount of trouble 
subsequently produced by the Society he founded. But the 
fact wa^ the Franciscan Monks were in possession of the 
work of the Church of Rome in Jerusalem at the time, with 
power to decide who should stay there and who should not, 
and they did not tuke a fancy to young Loyola, In fact 
they treated him in a most unbrotherly fashion, and ordered 
him to leave the city as quickly as possible. It was a sad 
trial, no doubt, to his enthusiastic nature. He had brought 
letters of recommendation with him to the Franciscans, but 
they were all in vain. So, after a stay of six weeks, he 
started on his way back to Europe, Having arrived in 
safety, it csme into hiR head that it was high time for him 
to become educated. He was thirty-three years old when 
he decided to throw off hi» ignorance as far as possible, by 
going tlirough a courae of study. He began his aelf-iraposcd 
task at Barcelona, but found it hard work to keep his mind 
bis books, though he had the assistance qL a tutor 



282 



TBI JSSI71T8 IH OBEAT BBITAUr 



provided for him at thd expense of a wealthy ladj. She 
provided him also with a deceut suit of clotbea to wear, but 
the shoes he found altogether too luxurious. He could not 
throw them away without being found out and offending 
the giver, but he got out of the difficulty by cutting ofi' the 
soles! With his studies he continued his penitential mortific- 
ations, and one good woman afterwards averred that one 
night, looking into his room through a chink, she saw the 
future saint while at prayer surrounded with a dasdiiig 
splendour, and lifted two feet high in the air, where he 
stood upon nothing! Outside the town of Barcelona was a 
Dominican Nunnery, called the Convent of Angels. The 
ladies inside its walls were by no means saints or angels. 
Indeed they had earned for themselves a yerj bad name in 
the town, for yonng men of very bad repute were welcome 
and irequent gu^ts at the Convent, and scandal was the 
very natural result. The Jesuit Bonhours says that the 
Nuns ^'were perfect courtesans.** ^ People tell us that such 
things could not possibly happen in a Convent, but Jesuit 
writers record the facts, and there is, in this caae, no 
reason to doubt the truth of their statements. ' Ignatius 
gave the wicked Nuns good wholesome advice, with the 
result that they reformed their nianners from that time forth. 
After two years spent in preparatory studio at Barcc- 
lona, Ignatius, in August I52t>, arrived at Alcala, where he 
became a student of the University. While there he got 
into trouble with the Inquisition, and was actually impn'soned 
for forty-two days, when he was declared by the loquisitora 
not guilty of the gharg*?s of heresy brought against him. 
They feared tlmt he was a Lutheran, but were not long in 
discovering their great mistake. It would indeed have been 
Htrange had Home's future leading champion again^ Pro^ 
testantism been found guilty of such an offence, and put to 



I 



(I 



' BtiiiliGiiri' Lift 6/ SL It/wattia, p. 10. LonJafi. 15815. 

* li/i 0/ Si. ignatimt of Layo/a. Uy Kftlbcf Gciuati, SJ., p, 5S.— RWi ; 
U/if of ioyy/*, p. lai. 



IGNATIUS IS TRE FBISOira OP THE IKQUISITION 



283 



^deaib for it. One result of hk impriaoniDeDt was that it 
led to his laaring the UniTersitj of Alcala, for Salamanca, 
after a stay in the former place of a little more than a 
year. Bat trouble awaited him at Salamanca also. He bad 
gone out amongst the people there with a companioD, speak- 
ing to them of religious things, bat as they were both 
laymen this at once aroused the suspicions of the priesthood, 
with the result that only twelve days after his arrival poor 
Ignatius once more found himself within the walls of a 
prison, on a charge of heresy. For twenty-one days the 
unfortunate Ignatius remained in the dungeons of the Inqui- 
sition, chained to a feUow-prisoner; when he was again 
f ortun a te enough to be de cl ar ed inn ocent » Af te r ano the r 
such an experience it became evident to Ignatius that he 
could no longer remain with comfort in Salamanca. He 
determ i n ed to go to Paris aad study there . E is friends 
tried hard to dissuade him from such a step, but in vain, 
and con^quently early in 1528 he arrired in Paris. He had 
not been long in that city before he again incurred the 
suspicion of the Chief Inquisitor, Matthew Ori, who sent for 
Ignatius to explain his position. This time the future 
General of the Jesuits was able to satisfy the Inquisitor with- 
out being pent to prison* At Paris he supported himself by 
beggings but this failing to secure sujfficient for bis pur- 
poses, for three successive years he visited Flanders^ during 
the vacation, for the purpose of begging from his countiy- 
men there resident. He even paid a short visit to England, 
aa to which little is known. Ignatius studied in the Univcr&ifcy 
of Paris for seven years, and took the degrees of Master 
ia Arts and Doctor, At times he auETered great privations, 
but with that imlomitabte perseverance which wa» one of his 
chief charncteristics, he brought his studies to a successful 
close* During those seven years the thought of forming a 
new religious Order in the Church of Home never forsook 
him, and he was constantly on the look-out for suitable 
disciples to join with him in founding it. He selected six 



284 



THK JESUITS IS ©BEAT BE1T*IK 



1 



for this purpoie— namely, Peter Fan e, or Leferre, a peasttii 
from the mountains af Savoy ; FrancU Xarier, a member of 
an ancient and noble family of Nararre, and afterwards widely 
known as a Missionary in India ; James Laynez, a Spaniard, 
who subsequently became General of the Jesuit Order, in 
succession to Loyola ; Alphonaua Salmeron, from Toledo ; 
Simon RodrigueSf a Portuguese \ and Nicholas Bobadilla, a 
Spaniard^ These six were men of exceptional natural abil- 
ities, and hid choice ia a clear proof of the wisdom or 
Ignatins iji soiecting men for the work he had on hand. It 
was u saying of Ms that those who were best fitted to succeed 
in the world, were likely to make the best and most u&eful 
servants of Christ* He preferred to have a few trustworthy 
men at hand to a crowd of inefficient instruments. On the 
I5th of August, 1534^ Ignatius with his six companions 
met together in a small chapel on the hill of Montmartre, 
Paris. There Favre— the only one of the party who wa« _ 
a priest at the time — said Mass, after which the aeTen of ■ 
them made tows of poverty and chastity, and bound them- 
selves to go to Palestine, there to labour for the salvatios 
of the infidels. It was agreed, however, that if anything 
should happen which would make this an impossibiUiy, then M 
they should go to Rome, throw theraselves at the feet of 
the Pope, and place themselves at his disposal. It was a 
very important event which took place that day, from what-* 
ever point of view we may look upon it. It was in reality 
the birthday of the Society of Jesus, which was at once 
placed by ita founders under the special protection of the 
Virgin- At the same time it was decided that the whole 
of the party should meet at Venice on January 25, 1537, _ 
for the purpose of embarking for the Holy Land. I 

The year 1534^ in which the Jesuit Order was bora — 
though as yet without Papal sanction— was memorable in 
English Church History. In tiut year Acta of Parliament 
were passed forbidding appeals to Rome, the receiving of 
Papal dispensations, and the payment of Peter^s Pence. It 



lOTfiTttm A»T> THK PAHtS 



285 



also witnessed the abjuratioD of Papal Supiemacj by the 
Convocations of Canter bury and York* In Germany it witnessed 
aLso the complebioD and publication of Luther's translation 
of the whole Bible in the German language. In the very 
year in which Papal Supremacy was abolished in England, 
and the Bible giteo in their own lan^age to the people of 
Germany, was born the Order whose aim has ever since 
been to restore that Papal Supremacy wherever it has fallen, 
and to destroy the Supremacy of the Bible over the Church 
of Christ* In Paris, where I)^atius Loyola resided, there 
waa at the time a considerable number of Protestants, whose 
presence was a sore trouble to the Romish priests. Early 
in that year it was decided by the Romanists that the 
burning pile was the best answer to heresy. *^ It is not 
enough,*' said the priests, "to put Lutheran evangelists in 
prifiou. Wa must go a step further and bum them.** Ab 
a result of this decision, no fewer than 300 Protestants were 
incarcerated in one prison alone. Officers were sent out in all 
directions through the city, hunting for Lutherans and hailing 
them to prison. We are not told that Loyola assisted in 
the work, but one of his Jesuit biographers significantly 
telk us that; **The principal employment of Ignatius at 
that time was to confirm Catholics in their ancient belief, 
and to make heretics sensible of their errors. He caused 
many to return, who had abjured the faith, and he brought 
them to the Inquisitor to be reconciled to the Church." ' 
One of those imprisoned at this time was Alexander Canus, 
a converted Dominican monk, of great eloquence, whose 
whole soul was on fire with love to the Saviour, and longing 
for the salvation of sinners* He was cruelly tortured while 
in prison. When the priests had crushed in his telt leg, 
he groaned aloud; *^0 God! there is neither pity nor mercy 
in meuP' He was condemned to death at the shike. He 
died preaching to those around the mercy of the Saviour he 



* B<nihoun* Uft ^/ If^atiu4, p. 116* 



286 



THl JESUITS IN QBUT BKITIIH 



loTed- His last words were '* Mj Redeemer! my Redeemer 1 " 
On NoTember 18th a poor ProtestAiit bricklayer named 
Poille was led out before the Cliurch of St, Catherine^ 
Paris, to dte for his faith. As he stood by the stake, ready 
to be bound to it, with a face beaming with peace ftad joyf 
be exclaimed: — **My Lord Jesus Christ reigno in heaven, 
and I am ready to Sght for flim on earth unto the last 
drop of my blood," They were brare and glorious words. 
May God grant us all grace to lay them to heart in tlui 
twentieth century, and infuse into lis the brave witnen- 
Bpirit for Jesus which he then possessed. But hia cruel 
persecutors were not pleased with bis noble words. "Wait 
a bit," they said to him, ** we will soon stop your prating.'^ 
They caught hold of his tongue, slit a hole through it; 
and then made a slit in his cheek, pulled his tongue through 
it, and fastened it there with an iron pin. He waa then 
burnt aliTe. ^ 

On the anniversaries of the day on which Ignatius and 
hta companions first took their vows, in 1535 and 1536, hie 
companions met together In the ^ame chapel and ren«l 
tbem ; Ignatius himself being away in Spain at the til 
During this period three others joined the new Society, 
namely, Claude le Jay, John Codure, and Faschaae Brou?t» 
The Society now numbered ten members, bound together 
by their vows, and by the rules prescribed by Ignatius, 
in his well-known book of Spiritual Exer<*istf£^ by the 
practice of which exercises the author maintained that a 
man may so overcome liimself and order his life, aa to 
free himself from all hurtful aiffections. I very much doubt 
whether the book has fully succeeded in its object in any 
case^ and judging by the conduct of many of his followers 
it has been in their cases a decided failure in eradicating 
from their minds all hurtful affections. But it is none the 
less a work of considerable ability Eanke calls it &^^Te«7 



I 



^ D«abtgiie*i Reformation im fAf Timt af CWvm, to}, lu., p, 143. 



TBI "SHllTtAL KtERnsKS*' AHB KOKET KAKIKG 287 

remarlcabie^' book, and adds that, ''lo its general tenour, 
its several propositions and their iQQtual connection, there 
is & certain cogencj that excitea the thoughtB indeed to 
JQwai'd activ^itj, but confines them within a narrow circle. 
It is moat happily adjusted to the author^s aim, the foster- 
ing of a spirit of meditation under the government of the 
imagiimtion/' ' 

Father WilJiam Watson, a secalar Koman Catholic priest 
residing in England towards the close of the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, knew the Jesuits very well indeed, and frequently 
expoaed their misdeeds. In his Decacordon of Ten Quod- 
libelical Questions, printed in 1602^ he ahows how the Jeeuit 
prieeta of that time used the Spiritual Exercises to get money 
out of their rich penitents, aa well as to secure likely can- 
didates for admission into the Jesuit Order. Father Watson 
writes t — 

*' Another young f^entlf^man not lon^ iince enterJBg into this 
Esc0t<^ uuder a ^^oou^ Jesuit here in Eng;la]iil, whs found by hie 
nieditatioDs to huve l&nds yet imsold. amounting in value to 2100 
ni&rlcft a year; whtch, heimtiee U liitidered bi« journey to heAvetif 
he offering the same to the wd young Jesuit, tbo good youof? 
Father allowing well the offer, eatd that if he should receive the 
lAiad ber Majeely won 1*3 take it from him. 'But,' quoth he, *ae\\ 
it, and then 1 am cupahle of the money/ By whirh ghostly counsel 
the gentleman Fet hia land to sa!e» and was offered £900 for it; 
but the holy Father inei^tinf; upon £1000, the ^entienmn died ere 
ever a chniimnii could be gotten^ aitd no the good Father lost all. 

■* I could here n^cifce many cctuseninjr piirts played by sundry of 
them, through the Rhus© of giviuK lhi« holy ijMtciw; but I wiJl 
only enlarge myself with a few golden threads of Father John 
Gerard'a webb, work, and weaving.,,* 1 will here eet down part 
of the couseninjT gainji he had mode of this ^stms*. First, be was 
the roan that caufl«d Henry Drury to enter into this /icertJiie, and 
thereby got him to sell Uie Manor of Ivoxell in fSuffolk, and other 
lands to the value of £S^00, and got all the money him^elfr the 
aaid Drury harin;^ chosen to be a Lay Brother. Afterwardf^ be »ent 
him to Antwerp to have his Noviciate by the Provinciai there.... 

** TVo ot ber^ had the ^frciiui giren them at that time by 
Father Ge^ftrd^ vix,, MnBter Anthony Bouie, of whom he got about 
£1000; and Master Thomas Kverarc, nf whom he hnd many good 
bcmka and other things. Also he ^a\e the l^ttrcise to Kdwtu^ 
Walpole, whom he enured In 9eU the Manor of Tuddeuhau), and 
had of biiu about lUOO marks. 



288 



THE JKBUITS IH Q^tAT KBITAnT 



''Ha dealt so in like mantier with Mftstar James Linacre, 
fellow-pmoner id the Clink, from whom hedrewtheTe£400; and alUu'- 
wards ^ot a promise of him of all hid laodfi^ but waA preveut4*d 
thereof by the said Linacre's death, 

" Furthermore, under the pretence of the said Eierci*e, be couaened 
Bit Edwiird Uuddle«ton's sou and heir, bv sundry eJei^btJ, of 
above £1000, Aod bo he dealt with Master Thoraaa Wiseiaaii ; nod 
by jCiviug him the Ej^reite he $!ot bis land, and Bent him to Antweni 
where he died. He alao gave the &ertiM to the eldest oon af Mailer 
Walter Uai»lingB« And be hatU drawD Master William Wieemaa 
into the said J^eretse so oft, as he hath left him now very bare to iive. 

"He batli «o wrought with Master Nicholas Kic^^ lately of 
Gray's Inn, as he hath gotten most of lii« livings and sent him to 
Rome. Master Roj^er Lee, of Backinghamehtre, hath be«u in this 
E^frcUe likewisOt and is also by him sent to Rome. 

*' In like miLuner he dealt with ancb gentlewomen aa he thinketh 
fit for his lum, and dmweth them t« his Sxerci»; a« the Lady 
Lavell, MiMress Heywood, and Mistrees WisemaD, now prifloners ; 
of whom he got so much as now she feeleth the want of it. By 
dn^wing Mistress Fortescue^ the widow of Master Edmuad Fortescue, 
into his Eicercue, he got of her a farm worth £oO a year, fl43d paid 
her no root* 

"Another drift he hath by his Exert^ of cousenage ; which is 
to persuade such ^Gntlewomen aa hare large portions to their 
marriage, to give the same to him and his Company, and to 
become Num. 

"So he prevailed with two of Mr, William Wiseman's daughters, 
of Brodock; with Elizabeth Shirley, bom in Leicestershire; with 
Dorothy Rookwood, itr. Richaid Rookwood'a daughter, of 8ufiolk, 
who had a great portion given unto het by the Lady Elizabeth 
Dniry, her grandmother; with Mistress Mary Tremaiue, Master 
Tremaixie's daughter, of Cornwall, she having a large portion; with 
Mistress Mar^ Tremn^ine, of Dorsetshire, of whom he had about 
£200; with Misire-sa Anne Arundel, of whom he got a great portion; 
with the Lady Mary Percy, who is now a Nun at BmsBola. 

*'Tbiia you' see by these devices how mightily the Jesulta have 
increased their riches, and enriched their (^effQ^s, expecting a 
time no doubt, when to draw forth their Creaaore to their most 
advantage.*" ^ 

If one Jesuit priest, by the use of the Spiritual Exercises 
of Loyola, could gain such a rich harvest, wbat may not a 
whole army of Jesuit priests goinf It is evident &om Father 
Watson^s statement (supported by facts, names, and figures) 
that the Jesuit Order has at least a strong mercenary reason 
for still pushing the use of the Spiritual Exercises to the 
utmost. It seems as though here we discover the secret of 
the great wealth of the Society of Jesus. 



HIHS TOURO JI8UIT8 AT BOMB 289 

Earlj in 1535 Ignatius had gone to Spain and had visited 
bis birthplace, where his brother and family still resided 
Naturally enough the return of Ignatius, in the humble 
garb he bad adopted, created a great sensation in the neigh- 
bourhood. Crowds went out anxious to see him. Though 
he was but a layman at the time, he was allowed to preach 
in the churches, but it was soon found that no building was 
large enough to hold the multitudes who came to hear him. So 
he had to preach in the open air. During his visit he is 
said to haye worked several miracles, but he only stayed 
about three months, and then he started off for Venice, 
having no doubt his vow to go to Jerusalem in mind. He 
arrived in Venice on the last day of 1535, remaining there 
until his nine companions, whom he had left in Paris, joined 
him, on January 6, 1537. It seems that they made the 
journey on foot, suffering at times very severely from the 
cold of winter. They passed through Lorraine and Germany, 
here and there holding discussions with Lutherans on the 
•way. At Venice the whole party remained for a time, until 
they could go to Rome, there to ask the permission of Pope 
Paul in. to visit Jerusalem. Ignatius at this time decided 
that he would not go to Rome with his companions, but 
remain for a while at Venice. The nine young Jesuits were 
most favourably received by the Pope, who gave them his 
blessing and permission to go to Jerusalem. They then 
returned to Venice where, on June 24, 1537, Ignatius, and 
those of his companions who had not before been ordained, 
were promoted to the priesthood. Soon after it was ascertained 
that, owing to a war then going on between Venice and 
the Turks, it was impossible for the parfcy to go to the 
Holy Land as they had intended. This necessarily led Ig- 
natius to change the plans which he had laid out for his 
fnture com-se of life. He now decided that he would go to 
Rome and beg the Pope to erect his youthful Society into 
a regular Religious Order. He took with him on this journey 
Favre and Laynez, and they were received by the Pope with every 

19 



290 



Tst mmrs w bumit BSiTjmt 



the 



teatliuonj of affectiou and approyal. The Pontiff c 
that the three companions should remain in Rome* 
Fttber and Laynez were to giTe public lectaras on Theology, 
and Ifrnatius to preach and conduct the Spiritual Exerci^tes, 
Bat eveu here in Rome trouble awaited the founder of the 
Jeauits and his two friends. A jear later Ignatius wrote to 
friend that thej had while there **gone through the most tioI 
persecution and oppoBition* which they had endured m theirl 
lives. One of the charges which their enemies brought 
against thetn was that they ** wanted to found a Congregatkm 
or an Order without authority from the Holy See.'* There 
was a measure of truth in the accusation, for they had ac- 
tually formed such an Order without such leave; but, on 
the other hand, it is certain that they were most aniious 
to secure that authority a& soon as possible. In due course 
the Jesuits were acquitted of the accusations brought against 
them by their foes. There were, howcTer, special dilEculties 
in the way of establishing a new Order at that time, arising 
from the corrupt state of the clergy and conrente in the 
city of Rome. A modem Roman Catholic biographer of 
Ignatius says: — '^^It ought nerer to be forgotten^ that m th^J 
times when Loyola entered on his religions Ufe, ft woefi4' 
depraTJty of morals had spread far and wide; many clergy 
were among its mos t deplorable ex am pi es ; the C onvents 
were infected with the vices of the outer world.** A com* 
mission was issued by Paul III., in Io3d, for the pnrpoae of 
correcting such abuses, and the commisaionera, says the 
writer just cited, reported that ** great scandals exiated among 
the clergy and in the Convents. To remove this last grwT- 
ance, they proposed that the several CommuniticB should be 
(without GXceptioUf as far as appears) forbidden to receive 
novices; bo that the old set of Monks and Nuns having died 
out, a new generation might be trained in the spirit of their 
primitive rule/' - Of Cardinal Bartotomeo Goidiccioni, to 



I 



> Lift of Si. IffMtiui l^^U. Bj 3t«irin Eow, pp* S»8, S&9. 



T»S JEStJJT OMfER ESTABLISSED 



291 



whom tlic qnestion of forming the Jesuit Society waa referred 
by the Pope, it i« recorded that '*Hia horror at the dis- 
orders Into which many of the Monka and Nuns had fallen, 
made him desire, not reform, but suppression j he wished 
all Orders to be abolished but four, which, he would remodel 
and place under strict governance. To allow a new Order 
was, to h^3 mind, an idea not deserving even to be dis- 
cussed/^ ^ With the Monasteries and Convents in Rome in 
guch a deplorable condition^ it was a somewhat daring 
thing to propose that another Order should he added to 
ihone already existing. A plan of the proposed Order waa, 
however, submitted to the Pope, and after careful considera- 
tion received his approval. On September 27, 1540, Paul III. 
issued his celebrated Bull approving of and establishiag the 
Society of Jesus. In this Bull the Pope quoted, with his 
expressed approval^ the btatement which had been submitted 
i€ him by the members of this new Society, in which they 
declared that it was formed, amongat other reasons, '* for 
the instruction of boys and ignorant people in Christianity, 
and above all for the spiritual consolation of the faithful 
in Christ, by hearing Confessions : " that the appointment 
and distribution of the duties of its members should be in 
the hands of a General chosen by the Pope, *' which Chief, 
with the advice of his associates, shall have authority to 
draw up Constitutions*' for the new Society; and they pro- 
mised that *''' this entire Society and all the members (Bhall) 
become God's soldiers under faithful obedience of the most 
sacred Lord the Pope ; '^ and thai ^^ each one of us be bound 
by a special vow, beyond a general obligation, so that 
whatsoever the present and other Roman Pontics, for the time 
beings shall ordain, pertaining to the advancement of souls, 
and the propagation of the faith^ and to whatsoever provinces 
he shall resolve to send us, we are straightway bound to 
l^bey, as far as in lis lies, without any tergiversation or 



1 U/* 0f Si, Ifnaiim^ ley^l*. Bj Stewmlt P 



292 



THE JESUITS IN OEEIT BKITAIK 



excuse; wtetlier he send us among the Turks, or to any 
other uabelieverSf even in those parts called India ; or to 
any heretics or schiamatics/* They also promiBed to take 
V0W3 of perpetual chastity and poverty. The Pope in thta 
giving his appiobatioQ to the new Order, was careful to limit 
the number of its members to sixty only; but three jearB 
later, the same Pope, on March 14, 1643, issued another 
Bull, by which, to the great joy of Ignatiufif he removed 
the restriction as to nomhers, and permitted the imlimitcd 
extension of the f^ocietj throughout the world. M 

The day on which the Papal approbation was given to ■ 
the Society of Jeaus was a memorable one indeed, and to be 
remembered ever after by Ignatius with joy and gratitude. 
Down to this point there is, I think, no reason to doubt 
his sincerity. He had shown it in many ways, and for a 
period corering many years. He was superstitious of course ; 
he desired with all his heart to support that Papal \ystem 
which we, as Protestants, believe to be not only unscriptural 
but in many ways highly injurious. Had he walked under 
the light of the Gospel* as revealed in the written Word 
of God, he would have been a different man, and as great a _ 
friend to Protestantism ae he afterwards turned out to be I 
its enemy* He was of an intensely enthusiastic nature, 
emotional to a degree, and just the kind of man likely to 
suffer from spectral illusions. Many cases of such illusions 
are recorded by Dr. Ahercrombie, in his valuable book 
entitled Inquiries Concerning the Intdledual Powers^ which 
are quite as surprising as those recorded of Ignalius and 
other Roman Catholic saints, but which are shown by him ■ 
to be due to natural causes, and often arise without any 
reference to religious aflairs. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE CONSTirUTIONS OF THE JESUITS -THEIR 
SECRET AGENTS 

Thk formal approbation of the Pope having been obtained 
for the new Order, the next step to be taken was the 
election of its first General. Ignatius for this purpose called 
a meeting of his companions at Rome, and inriied those 
unable to be present to send their rotes in writing. On 
April 7, 1541, the meeting was held, at which, however, only, 
five Jesoits were present. The result was that Ignatius was 
unanimously elected as first Oeneral. Bonhours asserts that 
Loyola was "afflicted, and even surprised to see himself 
elected Qeneral," and assured his brethren that he was un- 
willing to act. But in this Loyola could not have been 
sincere. How could he have been " surprised " at his elec« 
iion, when he was the founder of the new Order? He knew 
that some one must be appointed, and it is evident that he 
did not think either of his companions suitable, or he would 
have voted for him. When his own voting*paper was 
opened it was found that he had not voted for anybody. 
His attitude under the circumstances was one of pretence, 
for I doubt not that he would have been bitterly disappointed 
if anybody else had been selected. 

The new General at once set to work to draw up the 
Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. He wrote them 
in Spanish, but they were at once translated into Latin by 
his Secretary. These Constitutions are drawn up with extra- 
ordinary skill, and manifest worldly wisdom of a high order. 
The founder of the Order here laid down plans which sbow 
that he expected it to cover eventually the whole of the 



294 



Tint JESUTTS IN aBBAT BRITAnf 



globe. **It 13 indeed^" says Mr. Cattwright, *^ impossible to 
consider the aeri^ of *IlegulatioEs* and * Conatitutions,' — 
of minute iajunctiDiia and astute exemptiooa, — vbich make 
up the code of the Society^ without becoming greatly 
impressed with the foiGthought and sagacity which coutd 
devise provisions bo intricate and so nicely doTetailed. The 
law-niakers of the Society have franip^ a set of ordinances 
and of privileges with skill that is perfectly marvellous/*' 
The object of the Society of Jesus is aaid to be *' the 
greater g] ory of Qod " {Ad majormn Dei Gloriam)^ the 
initials of tbe words, " A, M, D. G,", being frequently used 
by the Jesuits in announcing their public eiervices, »nd on 
the title pn^es of their books. By the Constitutions it h 
required of those admitted into the Society that they shall 
be of " a comely presence," and that when conimencisg 
their probation they shall have exceeded their fourteenth 
year. If they have '* external gifts uf nobility, vreaJth, 
reputation and the like/' these, though not of themselves 
sufficient, will make them *^more fit for admission " (Parti. 
Chap, ii., Sees. 3, 12, 13). Other things being equal, it is eri- 
dent that a rich young man has a better chance of adniissioa 
than a poor one. When a candidate is thought suitable for 
probationt he is sent to a Home of Probation as a guest, 
for from twelve to twenty days. Ou the day after be arrives 
he is told how to conduct himself while there, **and eipressJy, 
tliat he hold no intercourse (unless for some cau^e of no 
slight moment it seems otherwise to the Superior), either by 
word or writing, with those within or those without, 
except with such as are for that purpose designated by the 
Superior" (Chap, iv,, Sec. 4)* While a guest he must open 
his conscience to the Superior, and make a Oeneral Con- 
fession, which, however, may not be to any Confessor A# 
may choose, but '^to the Confessor who shall be designated 
by the Superior to receive it/^ (Sec. 0). There are several 



I 
1 



* TA* Jtittiti. By W, C, Cartwriglil. M,F., p* IS, 



btJL«S OP THE JESurrs 



295 



tliiDga which maj lead to the dismissal of the norice at 
this stage^ aniougst them^ if be " cuinot settle himself to a 
life of Obedience, to be regulated according to the Society's 
manner of proceeding; if he cannot, or will not, aubject hia 
own opinions and judgment; or for other impediments, 
whether natural or habitual" (Part U, Chap, ii., Sec 4). 
It will thus be seen that there U no room in the Society 
of Jesmi for any man with private opinions of his own* 

" For liberty of mind and wiU^— for bold unfettered tbotiKht. — 
They miiat thiDk as ihcj are biddenj iind believe what they are 

Tbey muitt «htit Ibeir eyefl and ope their ear«» fast bound by 

slavish lawa» 
Bome'fl hook within their noeirile, and her bridle on their jaws/' ' 

If the candidate be found hkejj to become a useful 
member of the Society, he next enters aa a scholar upon a 
formal course of probation in one of its Houses or Colleges. 

I may here be permitted to mention that in the Ifules 
of the Society ofJesus^ printed for the private use of its mem- 
bers only, at the Jesuits^ prirate printing press, Koebamptou, 
io 1863, the follow infir is printed ae the 14th of what are 

roed the "Common Rules": — 



^: 



"None of those who are admitted for the work of the HouBe^ 
most leiwn eithf^r to rend or write, or if he have any knowlodge 
of letters acquire more; nor shnll »ny one teach hina, wilhout 
leave of the i^eneral; but it shall be eufficienl for him to serve 
Chrbt oar Lord in holy sirapUcity and humility." (p- 27.) 

While there he must ** at least once a week go to the 
Sacraments of Confession and Communion; except for some 
reason the Superior determine otherwise;" and one Confessor 
is appointed in each House or College to bear the Con- 
fessions of all the probationei's* Even at this early stage, 
before tbe probationer has actually joioed the Society, and 
though he may be only fourteen years old, provision is made 
in the Constitutions to enable him to give up at once all 

1 Mfivffri*'* P9tmt^ 



asa 



TEE JESmra IK OSKIT &B[TAU7 



his property to the Society, and lie is even adrised thui it 
i» better for him to make no conditioDs in so doiDg^ '*but 
let liira It^ave its ["his property "] disposal to liirn who has 
the care of the whole Societr, whether it should he applied 
to one place ratber than another within the same province; 
since he must know better than any other what is most 
needful, and what most nrge&t'* (Part III.^ Chap, i., Sec. 9). 
The novice must spend two years in this probationary state, 
and during this period — a modern Roman Catholic historian 
of the Order tells us — "la order to exercise their memory 
the Jesuit novices are obliged to learn dailj a short lesson 
by heart; but, with this exception, S^ Ignatius decrees IhU 
all study shall he rigorously hamshed*.^^ * 

At the end of two years the novice takes the simple 
TOWS of a ^'Spiritual Coadjutor*' in the following terms:— 



I 



"Almighty, Everlaaling God, I, N. R., thoup;h altogether most 
unworthy ot Thy Divine mght, yet trusting in Tby goodness and 
Infinite luercy, Arid moved with a desire of serving Thee, vow 
before the most Rscred Virgin Mary^ and the whole Court of 
Heaven, to Thy Divine Majesty, perpetual Poverty, Chattily, «4id 
Obedience, in the Society of Jesna, and pronjiee that I will enter 
into the said Society, for ever to lead my life therein, undertaking 
fiU things according lo the Constitutions of the same Society* 
Therefore I most humbly beseech Thee, hy Thy lnHnil« goodiie« 
and mercy^ by the Blood of Jeans ChriBt, that Thou wilt vouchsafe 
to admit thia holocaust in an odour of aweetne^a, and that as Thou 
hast already given me grace to de&Ire and offer it, «o Thou wilt 
alfto heatow plentiful grace on me to fulfil it. Am^en/' 



Of these three vow«, those of Poverty and Chastity are 
easily understood, aud require no explanation here. But 
some space is necessary to explain the Jesuit's Vow of 
Obedience, for, as the author last quoted, telJa us: — ''The 
groat law of Obedience is the secret of the perfect discipline 
that pervades this vast organization." In his famous Letter 
on Obedience, dated March 26th, 1553, Loyohi wrote to hi« 
mibjects in the Order: — ^'More easily may we sn^ar our* 

I Th* JtMviUi TAtir FoundAtwn. atui Hutary. By B. N., ruh i* p. 3i 

(London, Buma tDd Ofltc», 1S7D). 



BLnS OBSDIKNCE Ot THS JESUITS 297 

■elves to be surpassed bj other Religious Orders in fasting, 
watching, and other severities, in diet and apparel, which 
according to their Institute and Rule every one does 
piously practise; but in true and perfect Obedience and 
the abnegation of our will and judgment, I greatly desire, 
most dear brethren, that those who serve Qod in this Society 
should be conspicuous, and that the true and genuine progeny 
of the same should as it were be distinguished by this mark.^* 
And again in the same letter, he remarks (the italics are mine) : 

"And if there be any who for some time obey, induced by that 
common apprehension, that obey they must though commanded 
wm/kt; yet doubtlesa this cannot be firm and constant, and so 
perseTerance fails, or at least the perfection of Obedience, which 
coDsiBts in obeying promptly and with alacrity, for there can he no 
aiaeiity amd diligence^ where there u ducord of minds and opinions. 
Th0re perishes thai seal and speed in performing^ when we d^fubt 
whether it will be expedient or no to do what we are commanded: 
there pensbes that renowned simplicity of Blind Obedience, when 
W0 call in question the justice of the comTnamlJ* ^ 

What the obedience of a Jesuit especially should be to 
the Church of Rome, may apply also to his obedience to the 
Superiors of his Order. In the Spiritual Exercises^ Loyola 
lays down the proposition: **That we may be entirely of 
the same mind with the Church ; if she have defined anything 
to be black which may appear to our minds to be white, 
we ought to believe it to be as she has pro*nounced it.** 
Under these circumstances it would manifestly be impossible 
to see anything sinfiil or wrong in what is commanded, no 
matter what the command might be. It is laid down in 
the Constitutions: "That Holy Obedience may be perfect 
in us in every point, in execution, in will, in intellect; 
doing whatever is enjoyned us with all celerity, with spiritual 
joy and perseverance; persuading ourselves that everything 
18 just; suppressing every repugnant thought and judgment 
of. our own in a certain obedience, and that, moreover, in all 
things which are determined by the Superior, wherein U 

1 Bnfti of the SoeiH$ of Jetut, p. 72. Koeh»mpton» 1868. 



298 



Tflv JKscrrs ik qbkat bbitiik 



rantioi be defined (as is said) that any kind of tin appears. 
And let every one persuade himaelf that they who live uader 
Obedience should permit themselves to be moved aiid directed 
under Divine Providence by their Superiors juat as if they 
were a corpse, which allows itself to be moved and handled 
in any way; or aa the staff of an old man, which serves 
him wherever and in whatever thing he who holds it in his 
hund pleases to use it ** (Part 6, Chap. L). 

The Jesuits frequetitly refer to this rule in proof of their 
being some limit to the Obedience of a Jesutt. He must 
not obey when he clearly sees ** sin " in the command. The 
Jesuit must obey, Bayn Loyola, in his Letter on Obedience, 
"in all things vrhere mnnlfeBtly there appears no sin." But 
here we may reasonably ask, how is it possible for a man 
to see who ia &rst of all made '^ blind^' ? What power has 
a "corpse,^* or a ^^ staff/' without life or judgment, to see 
anything wrong in what is done with it? 

^-The famous Biniphcity of Blind Obedience," said Loyola, 
" no longer exists when we begin hiwardly to question 
whether it is rightly or wrongly that we are given a com- 
mand.*^ ' A Jesuit, he affi^rms, ought to have '^a will in- 
clined only to obey, without examining anything^ without 
Beeing anything, to perform all that the Superior has told 
you to do.'*' '^' Obedience to the Superior whom Qod gives 
uSf be he wkal he may^ is the sure and only means of 
regaining peace of souL" ' But what if the Superior be a 
wicked man? Is it not probable, in this case, that he will, 
from time to time, relying on the Blind Obedience of his 
subject, order him to commit that which Ls sinful? In this 
case how can hia subject see anything wrong in the com- 
mand, when he is required to obey it ** without examining 
anything, without seeing anything"? The fact is thafc the 
Jesuit's Blind Obedience would justify, and even make a 
merit of, doing any crime which a Superior may command. 

t Tk* Spirit of Si. fynsiimi, p. 70. LnodoD : Ikrna a&d Oitea, 1891. 
» Uid,, p. 7a. * Ui^,, p. 7«- 



I 



BLIND OBSDIEKCEf CBIHE, AND FOLLT 299 

This Blind Obedience should never be given to any man, 
or body of men. And even apart from crime, it serves to 
make men in authority in the Order tyrants over their sub- 
jects, and gives them the power to inflict untold misery 
without a shadow of excuse. 

Blind Obedience facilitates not only crime and tyranny, but 
also folly, sometimes of the most ridiculous kind. It would 
be easy to multiply instances, supplied by the Jesuits them- 
selves, in proof of this. The case of Alonzo Rodriguez, S.J., 
may sufiBce. He is now a Canonized Saint. It is recorded 
of him tiiat he was so perfect in Blind Obedience that he 
used "to obey without reasoning,'* and that *^one of the 
Fathers had even said he obeyed like an ass^M ^ Here is 
another instance which shows into what folly such obedience 
may lead: — 

**A still stranger instance of Blind Obedience," says the biogrftpber 
of Bodriguex, "occurred at a little earlier date. Brother Boca, who 
was the infirmarian, was one day waiting on our Saint, who was 
ill at the time. He had brought to him in the Befectory some 
tasty and thick soup, in an earthenware dish or porrinf^er — esou- 
del^ He noticed tnat the sick man would not touch it, out of 
love of mortification and dislike of ipecial fare, and as Boca thought 
it would do him good, he got the Bector to send word that he 
must eat the whole digh—eieudella, Alonzo at once began with 
his knife to scrape the rough earthenware, endeavouring thus to 
fblfil the order to the letter. The noise naturally attracted the 
attention of the Brothers at his side, and Boca then asked him 
why he was spoiling the knife and scratching the dish. 'Because,' 
answered Alonso, 'they told me to eat it.' *No/ explained Brother 
Boca, ' the Superior only wished you to finish the soup ; that is 
what we mean here by the dish.' So the holy Brother laid down 
his knife, and did as he was bid." * 

The modem Jesuit biographer of Rodriguez evidently 
admires this act of folly very much, for he actually adds 
to the story this marvellous comment: '*It is clear that 
the Bector might have enjoiued in earnest what his words 
literally conveyed, as a test of the Saint's obedience; so 
Alonzo was justified in taking them in their strictest sense.'* 

> Lifg of Si. Momo Rodrignet. By Pnncit Goldie, SJ^ p. 272. 
« iWrf., p, 277. 



soo 



THK JESUITS IS GREAT BRtTJUM 



Afber ft prolonged course of probation and study, llie noTice, , 
if found likely to prove serTiceable to the Order, is admitted 
into the rank of a " Spiritual Coadjutor J^ As fiuch he reads 
his TOW in churcli, after which he partakes of the Sacra- 
ment. The vow is in the following terraa: — 

"I, N., protnae© Almighty God, before His Virgin Mother, find 
before all Ike heavenly bo*t, and to yoii, BeTcrend Father, General 
of the Society of J^sus, boldinj^ the place of God, and your 9uc- 
ces^ore; or to you, Reverend Fnther, in the place of the Gen^rml 
of Ihe Society of Jesus and hiB Buccegsora, holding ihe place of 
Godp perpetual Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, and therein 
peculiar care in the education of boys* nccordinig to the tu&nner 
expressed in the Apostolical Letters and in the Conatttutioos of 
the eaid Society." 



I 



The Spiritual Coadjutors, thciu|^h priests and real Jesuits, 
are not the inner circle of the Society of Jesus. They 
may have important posts assig'ned to them, but they haye 
no control over the Society, The ** Professed Fathers" alone ■ 
^* constitute the Society of Je&us in its mo!<it technical seuse/*' f 
They alone, with a few exceptions, can take part in the 
General Congregations of the Order, or vote for the elec- 
tion of a General. The secrets of ihe Order are not im* 
parted to the Spiritual Coadjutors, who may remain ignorant 
of them all their lives. From these latter are selected, ai M 
a rule, those men of high aims in the spiritual life, prepared ^ 
to endure in foreign Misaions great privations for the good 
of the people aod the honour of the Order The Professed 
Fathers are but a small per-centage of the whole body, 
yet they alone possess real power. They take a special 
vow of obedience to the Pope, promising to go wher«ver 
he may send them into the Mission Held, and no one is 
admitted into the rank of the Professed Fathers until he is 
forty-five years of age. Mr~ Cartwright asserts that not 
more than two per cent of the members of the Onler are 
received into the supreme grade, but a writer in the organ 



' Tkt Jnuii^: J%4ir Foundation an J Etftory. 1); B. N*. tdI. i., p. S^. 



JESUIT SPIES 



301 



of the English Jesuits, The Month, assures us that from 
20 to 30 per cent " would be nearer the truth." * 

In addition to the Spiritual Coadjutors and Professed Fathers, 
there are in the Order Temporal Coadjutors, laymen, who service 
the Society in various capacities, from the humblest offices 
in the kitchens of their houses, to the higher office of authors 
of books, such as the late Henry Foley, S.J., who was 
selected to write the Records of the English Province^ 5.J., 
in eight large volumes. The lay brother is as much a 
Jesuit as the priests of the Society, but he does not, like 
them, take a vow to teach boys. The other three vows of 
Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, he takes in the same 
terms as those of the Spiritual Coadjutors. The '^ Rules of 
the Temporal Coadjutors," as privately printed in English, 
at the Boehampton House of the Order, direct them to 
^* perform the household services of their calling of whatsoever 
kind| however mean and humble they are, being ready to 
spend all their life-time in them. "' In their daily recreations 
they must "not converse among themselves only, or retire 
apart from the common place of recreation.** One important 
work which they are frequently required to undertake, is to 
accompany the priests of the Order when paying visits to 
private individuals, and they are expected to act as spies on 
those priests, reporting to the Superior anything they may 
have done amiss. The fifth of these rules deals with these 
visits, and is worth reprinting here. It is as follows: — 

"In accompanying Ours, especially in visits to women, they 
most not only observe what is proscribed to priests in their Rules, 
that when they are sent to hear the Confessions of women, or 
upon other occasions to visit them, the companion assigned by 
the Superior, as long as the priest converses with the women, is 
to be in a place where he may see him (so far as the room will 
permit)* and not hear what ought to be secret ; but also when they 
shall visit men, of what quality or degree soever they be, they 
miut endeavour not to leave him alone at any time, both in regard 
of religious decency and of common edification, unless it happens 

> 7%0 JetuiU, By W. C. Ctrtwrigbt, p. 28. 
s Buiu of tkg Society of //#m, p. 84. 



302 THE JsauiTa m great bretiht 

thjit tbey to wbom the visit is made are of such Authority, tlui 
neither the biisinwa itself, nor civility will allow the pne«t or aoT , 
of Uurit to introduce a compartioa while the bu4iac4« ia f^oiugoa* 
Thoy moat, moreoveri know that when they come hom«, th«y are , 
of their own jtccord to ^o to tb« Superiar and (though he do not { 
auk) leSI him if aoything has been done contrary to tbie Bule.'^ 

A very strict 'watch is kept orer the books wliicb the 
lay brethren read. The tenth of their Rules enacts that: 
*'They must not keep nor read any book, of what kindl 
HoeTer^ without leare of the Superior, to whom it belongs 
to assign them those which may be most proper for 
epiritual profit." In addition to the Rtilca for Temp 
Coadjutors, there are seTeral "Common Rules*' — ba thej are^ 
termed — ^applicable to Jesuits of ererj rank. Ever? one^j 
*^must,'^ Dot merely when he feels that Im spiritual oeeds] 
require it, but *^ upon the daj assigned,^' c^nfeas to an \ 
appointed Confessor, ^* and to no other without the Superior's | 
leave " (Rule 3), '* No one must have money in his own ' 
keeping; or, in aiiother*s keeping, either money or anything 
else** (Rule 7). 

*'No one must shut his chamber door so that it cannot be opened | 
on ihe outside: or have any chest or Other thinj locked, without ^ 
the Supericw's leave" (Rule 11), 

** No one most take any medicine^ or choose a Fhy^ici&ni or taIcA 
adviee of him| unless with the Superior's approval" (Rule 17). 

It ta a very serious offence indeed for a Jesuit to be too 
inquisitive as to the internal aSiiirs of the Society, possibly 
because such inquisitiTaness might lead to those in the lower 
grades learning more than it would he safe for them to be 
acquainted with* And therefore it is provided: — 

'*Nq one must curiously enquire of othera, the intentiouft of 

Superiors in things appei'taiuiu^ to government, or by forming 
vonjectures enter into conreraation upon them" (Rule 21)* 

'* No one but those who are appointed b^ the Superior^ must 
epeak with auch as are in their firs^t Probation; ordinary aalula* 
tiona, however, are excepted, which, when one meeu another, 
religious tharity requires (Rule 27], 

There is a gr^ dread lest tbe outside public should 
know what goes on in Jeamt Houses and Colleges, whUe 



I 



SBCBBCT 0? THE JESUITS 



803 



the boolcs used in those establishmeuU are, as far as possible, 
to be kept from the knowledge of externa. Secrecy is the 
prominetit feature of tbe Jesuit Sucieiy, as may be gathered 
from the following Rules: — 

" When flt home, tio one loust Ulk with ext«rnp, or call Any 
(o talk with theojt without general or particul&r leava of Ihe 
Superior '' (Rule 86). 

"No one must deliver the mdesagea or tetters of mny extern to 
one of the House, or of nne of vhe House to an extern, wilbout 
the Superior's tnowledt;^" (Rule 37). 

"No oua must rel&te to exteroi wbftt things are doue, or to bo 
done in tho Houae^ unless he knowe the Superior Approver of it; 
and he muat not lend them the ConstitiiUoue, or other such book« 
or writin(C8, in which the Institute or the privilegca of the Socieiy 
jite contAined, withoutthe express consent of the Superior" (B.ule38). 

WhQe subordinates in the Society must not enquire too 
curiously about the plans of tbeir Superiors, the latter are 
expected to have an unbounded cariosity aa to the doings of 

those under them, not only while in the Horae, but while 
on viBits outside, especially if those visits are paid to pereonB 
of iniportaoce: — 

"No one mu^t f^ out of the House, but when, and with what 
compAuiou, the Superior ohall think good'' (Rule 43). 

"When any one aska leave of the Superior to go anywhere he 
must, at the flame time^ tell him whither tuid for whftt cauM he 
desires to go ; oapecially if h© would po to speak with a Prelate* 
or other person of quality; and he must the aame day relate unto 
hitu whtu he h&a done, ae be ehall understand him to wish it, and 
the matter shall require" (Rule 44). 

These "Common Rules** are considered by the Jesuit 
Order of suoh importance that it is ordered that each member 
shall possess a copy, and "renew the memory of them 
every month, by reading or hearing thera^' (Rule 49). 

In addition there ie a series of '* General Admonitions, 
which regard the religious direction of Ours, and are to be 
observed by aU." Every Jesuit has permission to write 
direct to the General of the Order, and it is provided that : — 
** Those who write to the General or mediate Superiors, or 
receive letters from them» shall not shew them to the 



304 



TSt JESUITS IN OSEAT BRlTAfV 



immediate Smienors," Secrecj is again eujomed by tli6 
Admonitions;- *' None in future shi*ll impart or commiinicai 
to any extern, on any accaslon, the Annual Leiters of thfi 
Society/* The eighteenth of these AdDionitions is very 
Doteworthy. It is often referred to by Jesuits, as a proof 
that the Order takes no part in political and State affairs. 
It orders that: — J 




**To tftlce awjiy all appearaiice of eTil, and, ae far ba possible, 
to prevent the coiuplainU which amo from false suepiciODe, all 
of Uurs ftje commanded in Virtue of Holy Obedienc©, a-ud under 
pnin of inability to any poflt^ dignity, or superiority, and of priva- 
tion of active and pasftive voice, in no way to meddle t« public 
or secular atfaire of Princea, which appertainr as they tenn it, to 
matters of States neither may they presume or take upon ihem \Q 
treat of such political afiairs^ however much aad by ^homsoer^ 
they may be urged or importuned.*' 

At first sight this positive command seema decisive. But, 
on the other hand, we have to consider the fact that the 
General has a dispensing power over the Constitutions of 
the Society. Ifc is expressly provided that: "As it belong* 
to the General to see that the CouBtitutions of 'the Society 
be everywhere observed; so thall it belong to him to ^nttti ^ 
dh^yffi sation in all cases where dispen sat iott is ft eceMa fy. " | 
(Constiintiom^ Part 9, Chap, iii,, Sect, 8), In the instructions 
given by the General to the first two Jesuit Missionaries 
6f?nt to England (Edmund Campian and Robert Parsons) it 
was ordered that: ** They must not nnx theniselves up with 
aflairs of State, nor write to Rome about political matters, 
nor allow others to speak in tlietr presence against the 
Queen p — exce^^ perhaps ^ in the company of those \rhos^ fiddit^ 
has been long and $itadfitsf^ and even then not without 
strong reasons/' ^ Here then was a clear dispensation given 
to two Jesuits to en ter upo n poli tical ami State afifai rs, I 
though only with those who could be trusted* How Par 
acted on this dispensation is a well-known fact of hisioryj 



Simp40u'a Edmrnnd Cam^i4u, [i, 100. lit KilUion. 



JESinrS AND THEIR TBOrEBTT 



305 



Of aoTiTSft it would never do for the Jesuit Order to atUow 
its members to eater indiscriiuinatelj on political questions. 
Manj of them wouJd certainly lack the necessary discretion 
on su ch Bub j ects, and therefore there w as great w orldly 
wisdom in thus forbidding thera to enter on dangerous and 
delicate work, tflthoul a dUpensation, which, of course^ would 
be granted onlj to tho^e whose tact and discretion had been 
tried and tested- But as to the rule itaelt to which modern 
Jesuits 30 raiuly appeal, the best comiui^Dt on it is the 
worl^-wide })ractic$ of the Order. In every land they have, 
sooner or later^ interfered with State affairs* with a view 
to subduing every power and authority to their imperious 
rule. The history of the Jesuit Missions in Paraguay is in 
itself one of the mast remarkable proofs of this guiding 
principle of the Order. 

The Order evidently attaches considerable importance to 
" A Selection of Decreea of General Congregations '^ of the 
Society of Jesus, which, by the comm^ind of the General, 
are " to be read publicly every year, together with the General 
Admonitions/* Of these the following have, to the general 
reftder, a special interest; — 

•* As soon us Oura have left the Koviiiale, they must diveet Ihem- 
^Iv^ifl of aU administration of j^roperiy whatsoever; nor lh any 
one U> be allowed th« admjuialratluTi or free use of it^ even while he 
fiti]l reUitie the dominion. Moreover^ Oura are bound to diveat them- 
selves of tha domiiiToo of all property whataoever» whether re*l or 
pergonal, and whether t;eld m perpetuity or for life, and of all 
right of aiiecesAion, aa snon &a their age and lh* lnws of the country 
allow of it^ whenever our Kev. Father General ahall require it ' 

This Bule aa to the po^ession of property is similar to that 
of most^of the Monastic Orders, and of course it serves to bind 
the Jesuit very closely to the Order, to which he must hence- 
forth look for bodily austenauce. In this section the respon- 
aibiltty of the Society as a whole for wh^itever its members 
may vnrite or publish, whether it be a book or a mere tract, 
is clearly seen, A very strict censorship is set up, to which 
every Jesuit muat submit without eiception. It is ordered that : — 
-• . an 



306 



THE JESUITS IN GREAT BRITIIV 



** Whoever, without Lbe pcrmidBion of SuperiorB^ publish bodka, 
pamphleU, or flying sheets aa they are called^ under their own 
name or that of auother, or even flnouymouflly^ ahjill be severely 
punishedj as, for example^ with priratioD of office, of active and 
paai^ive voioe, inability niao to receive digTQitiee and Buperioricy 
\a the Society, and ntially with corporal peuancee, according 14 
tbe 3upenor ahnU ]ud^ and tbe grAvity of the c&se reouLre. * . . 
Finally, they will be pre.4umed to be guilty of fraad, who elukU 
gire bo externa writingd which they ahail publish.*' 

** It is docreed that nothii^g wh&tever la to be published {not even 
The8eaorlooeeaheeU)unle9^approved by Revi&ors appointed forthis." 

** Writers of booka cannot oiake any contract with publishers, 
without the express perniissiou of the Provincial.*' 

N^Dtwitlustandlnf^ the^e stringeut ruks it is a fact ih&U 
Jesuit writers have from time to timef flatly contrAdictedl 
each other in their public writiogs, and occasionallj, though! 
but very rarely, it has been necess&ry for the Heads of thai 
Order to repudiate a book wrUteti by one of the brethren.] 
In this cross-writing agEiinst each other bj Jesuits— tbougb 
it is seldom seen — there has occasionally been a great deal of 
what we in plain English term trickery. This comes out is 
a remarkable manner in connection with a well'-kiiown bool 
written by Father Robert Parsons, S.J., at the close oflhol 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, and entitled A Canferenee A^tiii 
the next Succrssion to the Throne of England, He wrote ifcl 
under the num de plume of '^ H. Doleman," which woa actti 
tbe name of a secular Roman Catholic priest at that 
working in England, and strongly opposed to ParaoS^ 
traitorous practices. It certainly looks as though Parsousj 
adopted the name of Dolman for the purpose of getting the 
latter into trouble with the Government. Father Christopher J 
Bagshaw was very angry with Parsons, and told Father 
Henry Gamett *' how vilely he, the said Master Dolman, 
had been dealt with, by such as he, the said Master Gamett, 
had interest in; in that Father Parsons had set out the 
Book 0/ TUlfS [i.e A Conference About the NeJot St4ccesj!?ion] in 
Master Dolman^s name, which (notwithstanding that he detected 
the contents of it) might ha^e brought him into great danger." ^ j 

1 JtmiU «mJ SftwAtn im tkt Btifn u/ SUiahHk. Uj J. G. Law, ^ &4. 



I 
I 



JESUIT DOUBLE DEALINO 307 

The object of Parsons^ book was to prore that the Infanta 
of Spain was entitled to succeed Elizabeth as Queen of 
England, and that consequently the King of Scotland was 
not the legal heir to the Throne. Though the Constitutions 
command that all the Jesuits shall "speak, as far as possible, 
the same thing,^* and that therefore *^ no contradictory doc- 
trines shall be allowed either bj word of mouth, or public 
sermons, or in written books** (Part iii., Chap, i., Sect. 18), 
a friend of Parsons and also a brother Jesuit, wrote a 
reply to the Conference About the Next Succession^ in which he 
sdyocated the claims of the King of Scotland as heir to the 
English Throne. Nearly one hundred years later Father 
La Chase, the Jesuit Confessor of Louis XIV., wrote a letter 
about this incident in the history of his Order, to Father 
Fetre, the Jesuit Confessor of the King of England. It 
affords a curious rerelation of Jesuit tactics. Father La 
Chase wrote :^ 

" Examples instruct much. One of our ajBsisting Fathers of that 
Kingdom [England], which was Father Parsons, having written a 
book against the sncoesaion of the King of Scots to the Bealm of 
England, Father Creighton, who was also of our Society, and up- 
held by many of our party, defended the cause of that King, in 
a book entitled The Jteason* of the King c/ Scot$, against the Book 
of Father Par$on$. " And though they eeeraed divided, yet they 
understood one another very well: this being practised by order 
of OUT General, to the end that if the House of Scotland were ex- 
cluded, they might show him who bad the Government, the book 
of Father Parsons; and on the other hand, if the King happened 
to be restored to the Throne, they might obtain his goodwill by 
showing him the works of Father Creighton. So that which way 
soever the medal turned, it still proved to the advantage of our 
Society."' 

A nice little arrangement^for the Jesuits! But what 
about truth and straightforward conduct? There is some 

> The real title of the hook by Creighton wts An Jpolo^y and Defence of 
ih9 King of Scotland, It U reprinted in the 6rBt Tolumc of MiMctlianiet of 
tbe Seottiih History Society, pp. 41— S4. 

* Third ColUction of Fofcre Rgiating to the Frteent Jnncturt of Afairt in 
MH fi m d , Printed in the yew USS. No iii., p. S7. 



308 



TUS JESUITS IN GREAT BEITUS 



confirinatorj evidence as to Father La Chasers statetsdnt, in 
A letter written by Father William Warford, a Jesuit priest, 
dated &om Komer September 4th, 1599, to a secular priest 
named Dr John Cecil. News had arrived JD Home that Father 
CVcil intended to take up his pen against Father Creighton's 
book, w!iereupon PaTBons took al&raa at once^ nisbed 
to the aid of his nominal opponent CreigbtoHf and ordered 
Father Warford to write the Letter just referred to» which 
coromencea as follows:— ''So it is, tliat aince tnj return to 
abide in the English College, I understood by Father Par^ 
aons our Rector, that Master Doctor Kclli&on hath written 
hither, concerning a certain intention of yours to write a 
hook against Father Creighton, touching certain differences 
between you and him. Whereupon Father Parsons willed 
me, both in hia name, and iu mine own, as one you know 
of old) to write some few lines to dehorte you from such 
a perilous and impertinent action. ^ The application^ how- 
ever« was in vain. Cecil printed his reply to Creighton, 
with the title of A Discovery of the Errors CommitUd, 

Of course from time to time the Jesuit Order thinks tt 
deijirable to dismiss unsuitable novicetf^ and even to grant 
to Spiritual Co ad jutors per miasi on to withdraw fr o m its 
ranks. As to the one who is dismissed, it is provided by 
the Constitutions, that *Hhe Superior take care, as far as 
possible, that be be sent away with mutual kindness, and 
a feeling of good-will towards the House"; and great care 
must be taken " that no irritation he allowed to remain 
in any one's mind on account of the dismissal" {Part II., 
Chap, iii., Sects. 6, 8)* This counsel reminds us of the advice 
of the Jesuit Balthasar GraciaHf Hector of the Jesuit 
College at Tarragon: "Always have your mouth full of 
sugar to sweeten your words^ so that even your ill-wisher 
enjoys them, * It may indeed be often and truly said of a 

* WlDwood't MemontU Qf Agairx of Sttte, vol. i., p. lUU. Fo]»y'< S^^Ht \ 
of SHfiUtA Pfov'm^, SJ,, TdL if., p. 578. 

' Onci«a*i Jri of Wifridip WUthm, p. Ifil. Loodoa, 16»2. 



I 



k OTSPENSITIOK TO LBATK THl JISUITi 



309 



Jesuit that ** The words of his mouth were smoother than 
butter, but war was in his heart; hia words were softer 
than oil, yet were thej drawn awords'* (Psalms It, 21), 
Sometimes a Jesuit petitions for his dismissal from the 
Order. In 1594, one who had taken the three vowa, btit 
had not been Professed, and who had spent many years in 
the Order as a priest, petitioned hia Superior for hia dis- 
iniftsal from the Society, with a release from his vow of 
obedience. He obtained his request by means of a document 
which, as such documents are but rarely seeiif I here 
reprint : — 

"Clemont Putcanu*, Frovost of the Compsny of Jesus in the 
Froruice of France, to all nerBona to whom it mftj appeitaio^ &nd 
to whom these pre»ent« »]iaU come, greeting lo our Lord J^ua 
Chrint, I j^ve you to nuderntand that althoiigh the bearer hereof 
bftJi ]ived a certain time in otir Compftny^ j:ot he wfta Dot Frofeasad, 
Lut upoD ftomegood coni^i derations moving him to request tt, we h Ave 
fnwikly and freely diiniiraed, and set him jit liberty from anything 
ihiit might tie him to our Hocieitj^ Furthermore we certify thnt 
he h&th with us been promoted to all Holy Orders^ aod th«it we 
know no impediment why he may iiot eiercise hiA function. In 
witneoa whereof we hftve made him this p««Bport under otJtr own 
hAodwritinK, and eealod it with the leil of our Societr, Given at 
Paris, the 24 and 25 of August, 15^14." < 

In consequence of two articJea in the Quarterly Rerirw^ 
for October 1874, and January 1875, reapecfciyelj, re-iasucd 
as a volume in 1876, by their author, Mr* W, C. Cart- 
wright, MP., under the iitle of The JesuiiSy a keen and 
important controversy axooe between the author and the 
English Jesuits, as to whether the Society has within ita 
ranks any members besides Professed Fathers, Spiritual 
Coadju^^f ^^^ Lay Brethren, whose adhesion to the Order 
ia open and uncoacealed; or whether, on the other hand, 
persons are at times secretly receired into its ranks. The 
Jesuits replied to Mr, Cartwright through the columns of 
Tht Months their official organ ^ and subsequently re-L<3sued 
tkelr defence in pamphlet form, with the title of Hemarkt 



* Tht J^utU' CMiffcAi^mr, p. 1^9^. Pdated Anno Domioi UGK. 



310 



TEZ JESUITS tic atBlT ftRTTiTN 



on a Lait Assailant of the Society of Jesus. Later on, tbe 
Jesuits continued the coQtroTersj in the columns of TAs 
Month for July and August 1877. Mr. Cartwright asserted 
that persons were secretly recei?ed aa menabera of the Order, 
to which the Jesuit reply was an emphatic though rather 
astonishing aa&eriion that the Society of Jesus **has alwajs 
lived in the light of day ; ^^ * but thia is followed by the 
inconsistent adniLsaioQi a few pag^s later on, that: — 

"It U true that St. Francia Borgia was secretly admitted to the 
iolemn vowti of tbe Society, and in virtue of such adtniasion waA 
enroUed in the Oatalo^ie of ProfeAaed Fathers; but thU would in 
no way entitle bim to the distinction of a crypto-Je^nii. For tbe 
ease was clearly exceptional, even wben tbe Society was iu ilc 
infancy^ and the Rules and Ootifltitutions nat f&irl y in ahape : eo much 
80, indeed, that the Pope himself gayea dispensation from the regular 
niode of pro<'edure, allowing St Francis to remain in the world 
for the period of four years, for the purpose of putting hia affairs^ 
publio and priv^te^ on a thoroughly stttisfactory footing before hl« 
final retirement. Thia auf^it^ently proves that the ca3« waii«i]3g;ular, 
and not falling under the ordinary rule« of tbe Society. A few 
otber Himil&r example* tn&y perhapa be found, two or three at the 
mosL For instance, the caee of Cardinal Oreini is well known*** ' 



I 



I 



I 



The argument of Mr, Cartwright, howefer, was not that 
these ** Crypto-J^uits " were as thick in the Order as black- 
berries on tbe hedges in autumn, but that such beings — 
whose numbers must necessarily remain unknown to the 
public — have actually eiisted. This assertion is amply prored 
by the extract from The Month just cited. It ia frankly 
admitted by this Jesuit writer that Francis Borgia — after- 
wards General of the Jesuits — Cardinal Orsini, and '* a few 
other similar examples'* were aU secretly received into the 
Society, and cousequentlj for a time they must have been 
** Crypto- Jesuits, natH-itbstandiiig the rery feeble denial of 
The Months Since this controrersy with Hn Cartwright took ■ 
place the English Jesuits baye published The- Life of St. 
Francis Borgia^ written by A. M. Clarke. This Borgim was 
the great grandson of Pope Alexander YL, a mui wko8Q 

» Bid., p. 88, 



THE PtrO OF GiKDU 



311 



crimes were of th© moat awfully abominable cbaracter, yet 
hifi English biographer has the audacitj to assert that ** there is 
no proof of any immorality in him after he ascended the Papal 
throne.*' ^ As Duke of Gandia, Francia Borgia was possessed 
of enormous wealth. He married, and brought up a large 
family of children. After the death of his wife, Borgia*8 
thoughts turned to a strictly religioua life, and this led him 
to consult his Confeasor as to his future. One morning this 
priest came to the Duke, and addressing him, said: **My 
Lord Duke, both God and His Most Holy Mother desire 
that you should enter the Society of Jesus. " The Duke 
Tery naturally asked why he spoke in such positive terms, 
to which the Confessor replied: ** After making my usual 
meditation I prostrated myself upon the ground, and with 
copious tears implored the Queen of Hearen, the Morning 
Star, to enlighten ray mind. Shortly afterwards I heard a 
sound which caused me to look up, and I saw Mary herself 
standing before me. With ineffable sweetness she smiled 
upon me and said : ^ Tell the Duke to enter the Society of 
my Son, for this is my wish, and will be most pleasing also 
to Him. Tell the Duke also, that he is to extend and 
glorify in the eyes of all men this Order, now so poor and 
despised, and that he is to be the means of rendering great 
services to the whole Church.^* ' Borgia at once retired to his 
oratory, and we are gravely assured that an image of the 
Virgin before which he prostrated himself, actually spoke to 
him and said:— "Francis, hesitate so longer, enter into the 
Society of my Son." 

Thereupon Borgia at once wrote to Ignatius Loyola, 
founder of the Order, telling him of his desire to enier its 
ranks, and at the same time giving a full account of his 
afTairs, including the amount of his yearly income. It is 
needless to add that Ignatius wa^ delighted on receiving such 
an application from one in such a distinguished position in 

« n* Lift of St. Fr^ntU SoTfim, B; A. M. Clarke, p, 8, 
> IH4., p, 118. 



312 



THB JtrCiTS m O&tiT BftlTAOr 



Bocietj, and poaseesor of such abimdatit wealth Be loBt no 
time in writing ao answer. '^Id tbe nanie of the Lord/^ 
he wrote to the Duke, "I receive you at once as our 
brother, and sbalt henceforward regard joa as such/* And 
then, with that hatred of publicitj for which the Jesuits ■ 
have, from time to time, been bo noted, before concluding 
hia letter Ignatius twice eihorted him to secrecy: — '*Tou 
had better keep the affair a secret at present so far at le^t 
as it is possible to do so;*' and: — "I cannot conclude with- , 
out once more inculcating upon you to take every precaution ' 
in order to prevent this astonishing piece of news from. 
being prematurely dimlged.^' ' As we have seen " this , 
astonishing news *^ was kept secret for four years, dnring I 
which the Duke appeared outwardly ae a man of the world, 
while in reality he was something else. He received a 1 
Papal Brief giving him permission, after making his pro- J 
fession as a Jesuit, to remain in the world for the purpose ' 
of arranging hia affairs, Borgia took the three tows early 
in 1548. " The ceremony/' says his EngUsh biographer^ 
"took place before a very small number of witnesses, in 
order that the secrecy recommended by St. Ignatius might 
be more ea*iily preserved.'* The wording of the vows was 
altered to suit his special case, for the document which he 
read is dlEerent from the formula provided in the Con$ii^ 
tutwns. It was as follows: — 

** h FninciB Borpia, Dute of Gandia, » miserabk BinneTj unworthy 
of the vocation of God and of thte my profession, y«t trciBting in 
the mercy of the Lord and faopinj? He will he propition* to me, 
do make a solemn vow to observe Poverty, Chns;tity, and Obedience 



I 



in conrormity watn tuc uonsntutions oi tne society, turoupa the ■ 
favour which hm been po'^uited me by Father Ignatius, General m 
of ttie aame. I implore the anjrels und fiAints who are in heaven ^ 



in conformity with tb« Constitutions of the Society, throupk the 

tnted r " 
iplore the anj^els 
to he vay protectors* and the wituesaes of my act. I auk a, simiiar 
favour of the Fathers and Brothers now present here," 

From the cone) uding words it seems as though only 
priests and Brothers of the Society of Jesus were preisenb ] 
1 Tk0 U/f of St. FraneU Borgia. By A, M. Glirlie, pp. 12i^ 1S3. 



nouT JEsmTs 



813 



to witness tlie Dnke^s tows. His biographer asserta that. 
*'b^des the instance of St. Francis Borgia, who although 
a professed Jesuit, remained for a considerable period in tbe 
'wortd and led a secular life, no other is recorded in the 
annals of the Societj.*' But if they are not "recorded" in 
those annals, thej baTe certainly taken place. As we have 
seen the Jesuit writer in The Month admits that there were 
other instances. Anyhow it is now quite clear, Jesuits 
themselves being our witnesses, that secret receptions have 
taken place, and they cannot therefore he surprised if Pro- 
testants suspect that such instances occur at the present 
time, and hare been in the past more numerous than 
are *' recorded in the annals of the Society^' revealed to the 
public. It is quite possible for members of Royal families, 
and members of the aristocracy, to be at the present moment 
real though Crypto -Jesnits, while publicly attending to their 
duties in the world, no one around th^ni suspecting the real 
truth. In the se^enfeenth century the English secular 
Boman Catholic priests believed in the eilstence of Ci^to- 
Jesuits. This we know on the authority of Pansani, the 
Pope's secret Enyoy to England, who asserted that: —"The 
[Roman Catholic] clergy, to prevent being imposed on by 
false brethren, caused an oath to be privately administered 
to all new missionaries of their bodj', whereby they were 
to disown themselves to be Jesuits in masquernde/' * We 
may be perfectly certain that such an oath would never have 
been administered without good reasons. 

A& to the question, are there any other classes of persons 
united to the Society of Jesus in addition to the Professed 
Fathers, Spiritual Coadjutors, and Lay Brethren, the Month 
denies that any such classes exist within the Order, yet at 
the same time it makes an admission in the followiug terms: 
'* But it will be asked, are there not, after all, persons 
affiliated to the Society of Jesus? Yes, but they are in no 
true sense members of the Society, and in no sense at all 

) Seringtao^i Memirin of Vttntmi^ p. 249. 



314 



THE J5SCTTS IK GBXAT BBITAlff 



subject ia its obedience or ita rules. Tbey are Tirtuoiis 
persons, to wham in acknovledgnient of special serric^es 
the Society grant-s a share in its prayers and satisfactions, 
aad nothing more/^ ' A cooaiderable number of influential 
friends of the Society have, no doubt, been affiliated in this 
way, flome of tbem by no means remarkable for sanctity. 
One of the number was the Duke of Tyrconoel, whom 
Macaalay deacribes as ** the fiercest and most uncompromiaing 
of all those who hated the liberties Emd religion of England/* 
*^IrL his youth/* aay& the same historian^ **he bad been one 
of the most noted abarpers and bullies of London/* and 
though no longer young, "whenever he opened his mouth, 
ranted, cursed^ and swore with euch frantic riolence that 
superficial obsenrers set him down for tbe wildest of liber- 
tinea/** Women are affiliated to the Jeeuit Order in the 
same way that " Lying Dick Talbot '* — aa Tyrconnel used to 
to be called— was. Tbese men and women form no doubt 
powerful auiiliaricfl to the Jeauit Order throaghoat the 
world, If they receive from the Society certain spirihial 
bleasingB by affiliation^ they are no doubt expected to labour 
for the Society in return, even though not under formal 
vows of obedience. In some respects fhey will, no doubt^ 
be more useful to the Company than if formally enrolled m 
in the rank^ of ita members, f 

But are Societies as well aa private indiridualB aEliated 
to the Society of Jesus P One such world-wide Society 
certainly exists, ruled and governed in all things by the 
Jesuits for the time being. It is known as the Prima Primaria^ 
and heia aflS.liated to it a number of " Sodalities *' throughout 
the world. I have before me as I write the official Manuoi 
for the Use of the SodalUies of Our Lady Affliated to ihs 
R'ima Primaria^ privately printed, in 188^1, at tbe Jesuits* 
Press, Roebampton. From the preface, written by the Rev. 
M, Gavin, S^J.^ I learn that the Prima Frimaria traces its 

I TAf Mtma, liigiLit 1877, p. 4fiS. 

' MiL'tuli;'i SuUtry o/ Im^famd, voL i,. pp. S5S, B»0. Kdition ISM. 



THB JESUIT B0DALITIE8 



315 



origin to the year 1563, at Rome, where it was founded by 
Father 0. Leonio, S.J., but it wa.*f not establiBlied '^Cation- 
ically" uatU 1584^, by a Bull issued by Gregory XIII. on the 
5tb of December in that year* Although it is entirety con- 
trolled by the Jesuits, yet Sodalities are affiliated to it which 
"are mider the direction of the secular clergy" (p, 1), 

" Whatever succeas/' Bays Mr Gavin, *• may have attended the 
Society of Jesu* in the education of youth both in schools and 
uuivertitiea, ia due, after God, to Hie Virgin Mother, nrd devotion 
to her has been mainly propagated and kept alive hy ihe Sodality* 
Conaection with the Sodality ia not in any aense meant to centre 
when schooldays are oven 'Sodalities, duly afl^liated to the Prima 
Primaria^ eiiat in nearly all the ciiief towns of England^ Ireland, 
Scotland, and America, where the Society of Jesus owns a Church/' ^ 

This mysterioiis organization has evideBtly played an 
important part in the past history of the Jesuit Order, for 
it boasts of having had amongst its members such distinguished 
personages as Popes Urban VIU-^ Alexander VII., Clement IX,, 
Clement Z., Innocent X,, Innocent XL, and Clement XL, 
together with a whole host of Cardinals ; also Sigismond 11., 
King of Poland and Sweden; Ladtslaus IV,, King of Poland; 
John Caaimir, King of Polaud, and the Emperor Ferdinand IL 
The Catholic Dictionary informs us that the members of 
this Prima Primaria hare been everywhere *' looked upon 
as the champions of orthodoxy against heretics and infidels ; " 
and that it has been *' thrown open to women and young 
girlA.*^ To give some idea of the extent of this Jesuit- 
controlled orgaatzatiouj it may be mentioned that Mr. Gavin 
states that: 

"So great was the renown of thia famous Congregation that, in 
the first 240 years of its existence, 2,476 Sodalities^ were afliliated 
to it. In the 40 years that followed, from 18*J4 to 1864, thefiama 
honour was conferred on 7,040 Confrfttemiliea; in all, up to 1S64, 
no leeB than 9.61 S had been affilinted to the Prima Primaria. 
Since 1$7^ to the present date (1>^85| 7^ af&liations have been 
re^steret3, but probably thr^e or four timeii that number have 
been affiliated though not registered/' * 



Msmtta/, p. n, s Ih^ p. 7, 



S16 



TBI JMtrm tK QBEAT BBlTAnt 



Statistics as to the number of membeis in 6flch Sotklitj 
are not given; but it is evident from tlie facts supplied bj 
Mr. Gavin, that in almost, If not quite, every place where 
the Jesuits &re at work tbej have a regiment of men an 
women at hand, mainly educated in Jesuit Schools ani 
Colleges, ready to carry out the wishes of the Society. I 
looks OS though those in the bttmblost ranks of life are no 
eligible for admissiont since one of the Rulea is that: 
** Only those are to be admitted into the Congregation who 
are in a respectable position in life, and with some preteo- 
sions to a literary education/^ though what is to be ibe 
test of education is not stated. At least one Sodality a£S.llated 
to the Prima Prvnaria h confined to gentlemen only. Its 
headquarters are at the chief London church of the J^uitft in 
Farm Street, W., where it poasessea a private chapeL The 
special and privately printed Manual of this organization, 
issued in 1883, liea before me as I write. It ia entitledfj 
Manual for the Use of the Sod<Uily of the Immaculate C&n 
ceptian. Wiih Appendix for the Farm Street Sodaliftf, From 
it we learn that this Sodality was established in Farm Street, ■ 
by Father Gallwey, S.J,, on December 8th, 1857, *'Many( 
Catholic gentlemen," writes Mr. Gavin, who in 1883, was 
Director of the Sodality^ ** became members, and we now number ■ 
about 100 [I believe the number is now about 300]. Of thesel 
some joined in Farm Street, while others had been received 
in boyhood at some of the [Jeeuit] Society*s Colleges in 
England or elsewhere, and renewed their previous connec- 
tion with the Sodality, Like all things undertaken for God, 
the Sodality has had many dilScolties to contend against, 
but it has done good, and will, through our Lady's aid, do 
better work still amid the Catholic gentlrmen of London. 
The Sodality i& a spiritual association of laymen, who pledge 
themselves to be servi perpetvi of the Blessed Virgin/' 

According to the official Manual^ provision is still made 
for the admiEision into the Prima Primaria of persons of 
Tery exalted station. While at Farm Street none benealh 






I 



THE JES01T SODILITIBS 317 

the rank of " gentlemen " are admitted, yet higher personages 
are expected. In a list of "Privileges and Concessions/* 
dated 1776, and still in force, it is provided that: — 

*' All Kings, Princes, Dukes, and Counts, invested with supreme 
authority, and those related to them by blood, within the first and 
second degree, who desire to be enrolled in the Con^rregation 
erected in any place, or hereafter to be enrolled, can, although 
absent, by performing the works of piety already mentioned, and 
by visitinp; some Church which may be most convenient to them- 
selves, gam all the indulgences, remissions, mitigations, etc., which 
have been granted and communicated/' ' 

All the members of this particular Sodality, and of the 
Prima Primaria to which they are afiUiated, however 
exalted may be their station, even though Princes and 
Kings, are bound to obey the " commands ** of their Directors, 
who, in turn, have vowed " Blind Obedience " to the General 
of the Jesuits, who is the head of this vast network of 
organizations scattered throughout the world. We read in 
the Manual that: — 

'* Upon Sodalists, moreover, it is enjovned that they should altoayi 
obesf, with a prompt and ready will, the counsels and eommandi of 
their own Directors" (p. 160). 

"The Father IMrector represents the person of the General [of 
the Jesuits] in the direction of the Sodality^ to the Director con- 
sequently everything and everybody ought to be subject, as if to 
the General himself" (p. 19.) 

"The immediate Superior of the Congregation of the Pruna 
PrimaHOj by virtue of the Apostolic Constitution, is the Father 
General of the Society of Jesus. To him consequently belongs 
the go'vemment of the Congregation; it is in his power to make 
laws, revoke, or modify them, since everything depends on his 
authority " (p. 17.) 

We thus learn of what vast importance to the interests 
and prosperity of the Society of Jesus are the Sodalities thus 
affiliated to the Prima Primaria^ which is subject to the sole 
authority of the Qeneral of the Order. It seems strange that 
the work of these affihated has not hitherto received anything 
like adequate attention from Protestant writers. To me it seems 
that in all probability most of the secret work of the Jesuits, 

1 MamMol, p. 16$. 



318 



TSS JmrtTS IK ORXAT BBITJLIK 



both political and religmtis, ia carried on bj its niembers, 
who need not be formally Jesuits^ though they certainlj are 
Uia obedieot servants of the Society. The memberB, being 
generally in good social positions, can eoaUy be utilised by 
the wily Fathers as spies on those who hold importanl 
offices in the State, and, in some cases, being friends of 
Statesmen, they are no doubt expected to use their influence 
on behalf of the objects of the Jasuit Order. They will prob- 
ably be aleo found extremely useful in introducing wealthy 
Protestants to the Jesuit priests, with a riew to proselytising. 
If this Congregation were for spiritual purposes only, what 
need could there be, it may well be asked, for the fuUowing 
rule ? — " Those are excluded from the Congregation who 
suffer from epileptic ftts, or are phyBically or accidentally 
deformed/' ' 

The Roman Catholic priest who, in 1603, wrote A Stplh 
Unto A Cerfaine Libell, was evidently well acquainted with 
the work of these Jesuit Sodalities In bia own day, and 
realised also their raat importance in the work of the 
Jesuit Order. 



I 



"It is," he wriLeB, "but An ordinflrp coiir«e with the J^ttiU* In 
bind both noble m«n «.ii(l woiuen, nud others ftleo unto then) by 
vow, ftnd yet leaviiijif tbem in the woHd to be tbeir iDstrom^ni^J 
of which Iciod in both sexes I could name some in oor owaj 
country* And th&refore it \& no slr&ng6 thing to cbftrge tbe Je?)uitj] 
to have men in the world abroad who are their's^ and bound to] 
them ID vow, and therefore may bo termed Jesuita* For whiLt dntli 
incorporate into & reii^ioua hodv, but the vows thereof, amon 
whkh obeiHence is the chiefeet?"' 

"For you must know that the Jeaiiite are wise And cunDing] 
politiolana, und can (ell bow to mannge miUters by £econdary» otj 
third jue&ns, lyiog aloof off themselveB, and being least oeeo 
suspected. Such aa hare been acquainted with their denlmg 
know thiB, which I sa.y, not to be void of truth," ' 



1 



1 Manual for th* V§s of ikt SodaiUie* 0/ Our L^ J0Umied ta UU JUms 

Primaria. PrnaLeljr {jfiuled Ht tiie MotircH Prtiu, noeljJiuiptoD^ I'^SS, f. VI. 
ThiB U aot thia nme Mtnval u that uwd in the Pvw Slrect :><HUiit7« XhvUi^^ it 
eontiiu inu«l to b« fouad in the latter book« 

1 A Repl'u Uhto A CeritUM LiUli, L 47* 

» IM., i. U, 



IRS JESUIT SODALITIES 319 

Fatlter Robert Parsons mentions theac Sodalitiee in an 
exceedingly scarce book, written in 1602. He writes: 

" In all CathoHc countrie* throughout the world where JeauiU 
live, it ifl very ortlinajy among other means which they use* for 
ftsflisiing men in spiritual a.O'a.iri»t to institute several Con^reoiiitiona 
ami Confraternkiea of all aort-a of persons, theoaaelvea bein/ Prtfects 
and Directors thereof, for exercise of all pious works and godlineaa. 
And tbi9 was in Pnrjfiand ether cities of FrAnce, while they remained 
there, and \a at thi» day in Rome, Naples, Seville^ Toledo, YalenciA, 
Sfilamaiicjij And other town^ uf Italy and Spain, and other placeii. 
And the huit of these Con^rej^tions \s infinite for all kind^ of 
piety, and in Rome itself it cannot be denied but that greiit 
Prelates, Noblemen, and Cardinal themfielvee ar« of t^ese Gon- 
j^egrations, wherein private BeJijfious men of this Order [of Jeeuel 
be ever the Ueadii and Prefet^ta for direction and execution of 
the rulee/'^ 

Members are always admitted into these various Sodalities 
throughout the world in the nume of the General of the 
Jesuits, and each person oa admission U required to make 
the following "Act of Consecration^' to the Virgin Mary; — 

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, and Virjtin, L, N,R, do this day 
choose thee m& Sovereip^n ProtBctr4>sa, and Advocate; and I lirnily 
purpose and resolve never to forsake thee, never to eay or do 
anythinfi: a^ainBt thee^ and never to permit those subject to me 
to do anything ai<Ain*t thy hotifjur, I b**3**ech thee, therefore, 
receive me &a thy servant, itand by me in all my actions^ and 
do not abandon me in the hour of death. Amen,*' 

Sodalities ** for men '' were, in 1885 — how many have 
been formed since I cannot say — e^tahhshed in England at 
Farm Street, London ; St. Francis Xavier, Liverpool ; St. Wil- 
frid's, Preston; St. Walburge^a, Preston; St. Michael and 
John, Clitheroe ; St. Aioysius', Oiford; St. Mary's, St. Helens; 
and The Holy Name, Manchester. In Ireland, at St. Francis 
Xarier's, Dublin; Church of the Sacred Hearty Limerick; 
and St, Ignatius', Galway. In Scotland, at the Church of 
the Sacred Heart, Edinburgh ; and St, Joseph's, Glasgow 

* J J[frtiw/«/*/iy* of the Greai fttly and Batt SpinU uf C^i^^nf m 
£n^iait*i {■ailing them*eteei Se^Mtlar Fri<4t^» By J'ricttri Ljfviag io ObwlicDC^ 



320 



THS JESUITS IN GliEAT BKLTJUN 



Sodalities '^for boys" were, m fcliat jear, m eristence, 
Beaumoni College, Old Windsor ; Siouyhurst College ; Mount 
St Mary'sj Coltegei Chesterfield; Belvedere College^ Dublin; 
Tullabeg Colleg^e, Tiillamore; Clonggwea College, Naft^; and 
St. Alojsiua\ Gla^ow. * 

Eyerj Sodality connected with the Prima Frimaria baa 
an official called **Tbe Archivist,'* who baa Lo ta.ke charge 
of all the manuscripts and other contidential documents of 
the Sodality. The greatest care is taken to keep the coQtenta 
of tbe archives from the knowledge^ not merely of outsiders, 
but an far as possible from ordinary members. One of the 
rules bearing on this important subject is as follows: — I 

**To no one except tbe F&tber Director, Frefect, and S^cretvy, 

who haye the ng^ii to visit tbe Archivium, will the ArcbiYiftt open 
It, or commonicHte the documents kept tUore without tbe espresa 
orders of the Father Pirector or the Prefect. Every time permiBsion 
ia obtained &om the Father Director or from the Prefect to show 
copies of documents or wiytbin^ elae kept in the Archiviiiio, the 
AicbiTist^ in addition to bis own fiigna>ture, shall have tb*t of th« 
Secretary placed on tbe document, who will sLninp it with the 
Beal of the Congregation. When documenU^ reoordA» or pftpere of 
any deicripLion whatever are taken from the ArchiTium with the 
leave of the Father Director, wlio alone can give it, let the Arebi- 
vidt write down exactJy tbe day, the paper, or the papers taken 
Gut, and th@ person to whom they were lent, even if be be tbe 
Fatbtir Director or the Archivist himself. To this m^e no exception 
ehall ever be made; to prevent the recorda of the Congregation 
from being loaL" * 



I 



Tbe various Sodalities established bj the Jeanits for dif- 
ferent classes have frequently been utilised by them for 
furthering their political schemes and mlschierous plaafl. 
The members have ever proved most useful tools in their hands. 
As we have already seen, ' one of these organizations was 
furmed in Eogland amongst tbe more wealthy Roman Catholic 
gentry, as early aa 1580, and from its ranks came most of the 
men afterwards implicated in attempts to assassinabe Quees 

1 MaitiMi for tJu Um of the SodaOtitt c/ Ow Ledy J/jUmUd ta thr iVac 
Primftrm, Vrivt^iAy Priated at the UKarna ^rua, RodLAXDptoa, IBSS, p. 9t. 
3 Jh^d.. p. 68. 
» 5igw^. lip, aO— *2. 



« 



Jfe9U[TS AND THS HOLT LEAGtB 



321 



illi/ab^ih. Towards the conclusion af the reign of Elizabeth 
a considerable body of Roman Catliolic priests were m prison 
at Wisbech, and while there a Jesnit priest named Weaton 
founded a Sodality which was the cause of many bitter 
quarreU between the Jesaite and secular priests. 

But even before these orgaDizalions were founded in Gng- 
landf and before they were otHcially blessed by the Pope, 
they had found their way into France ^ where they took an 
active and prominent part in the organisation and work of 
that most dieloyal and traitoroUH hodyi known as "The 
Holy League,** whose main object was the «x termination of 
Protestantism from France by the sword. The well-known 
Italian historian, Davilla (who was a Roman Catholic), revettls 
the ^cret work of the Jesuits in this connection. He tells 
us, under date 1576, that the conspirators* ** way of meeting 
together, and holding intelligence with one another, was 
opened to them by the King's own institution, who, either 
mOTed by his inclination to piety, by the admonitions and 
writings of Father Bernard Castor, a Jesuit, and many other 
religious men of that and other Orders; or eke to cover 
and palliate those hidden Intentions which he had resolved 
on for the course of his future government, had brought in 
the use of many Fraternities, who, under divers habits and 
different names, met together upon days of devotion, to spend 
their time in processions, prayers, disciplines, and other 
apiritual exercises, under the pioua pretence of appeasing 
God*s wrath, of imploring a remedy for their present divi- 
sions and calamities, and of procuring unity, peace, and 
concord amon^t all the people of the Kingdom; by which 
means the Catholics did not only meet freely together in all 
places, but also found matter and opportunity to discourse 
of present aFairs, and to bewail the miserable condition to 
which the Crown was reiluced by division, and by the 
increase of heresy; from which lamentations coming to talk 
of businesses of the Qoremment, and the atffLirs of State, it 
was not hard both for those Brethren themselves^ and 



THE JiatrjTd IK OBLE4T BHITJII5 



percbftnee for others more crafty, and better acquainT 
with the desigBS of the principal contrivei«, to sow ibe 
»eedtj^ and ingraft the be^nningH of that League, which had 
ft Bear counection with that devout pretence for which the 
Catholics assembled themgelvea in so many several placee/^ ' 
Faiiquiei'T in hia Jesuits' Caieckisrne^ states that he read 
in the Annual Letters of the French Jesuits that about the 
year 1589 they instituted at Lyons '*the Brotherhood of 
our Lady ** ; and at Bruges ** tb^ Brotherhood o! the Pen* 
itents/' "not to appease the wrath of God* but to provoke 
it against the late King" * of France. Henry IIL He 
al^o quotes the statement of Father Alexander Bayee^ 
a Jeauit, who wrot€:— ■ 

'*J muat confefls to you that, upon the first breakjni: out of lh« 
trrjulilcfsi, we preftenlly insiitm*>d within our College of Parii^ a 
Brotherhood^ which we named a Congrejci^tion in honour of our 
I^dy, beinK ft-*!' tbiK &auae called The Cont^eiration of the Cb^pldt', 
bijctiuse the Br^lhran of that compjiuy were bound to carry & 
ChA^i^et, cir prayer of beads, and to say it over once a day. Into 
tbii^ Conj^rc^K^ution did all the toaloue and devout i^rsonaKee of oar 
Holy I^fbcfue cause tliemselvee to be enroUedt the Lord Mendosa, 
Ainlitk&aador for the Catholic Kinj? of Spaiu, the etzteen Govemon 
of Paris, with their wbrile fainiliee, whereof I have kept no regifft«r, 
neither was it any part of itty charge^ 

**Our Conj^rfe^Htion waa kept everj Sunday in a certain High 
Olifipelf where all ihe Brotherhood were bound to be present* if 
there was no necessary cflu^ of let or imp*cdimeot. There m 
were nil aevernUy coiifediKed on the Sstordaya, and on Sunday wa 
reccivt^d the Sacran^ient. When the Ma»a waa done oue of our 
Fathers went into the pulpit, and there exhorted all the audienoa 
to continue Meadfaat in that holy devotion, which ai this day \t 
in France called Eetielli;>n. This done, all the coTnroon dort 
departed, and thot*e of greaie«t place and authority stayed behind, i 
to consult about the affaire of the Holy Le^^uer Our good FalbOTi 
Odon Fijtenai, was loni^ time Fresideni of Untt Council.*' ■ 

A century later, the Duke of Saint Simon seema to harej 
heen well acquainted with the work of the Jesuits, and' 
their inSuence over Louis XIV. After recording, in hia 
ifhuoires, the death of tliat monarch, he prooeedfi thua:— i 



^ The Je^ttiU Cafeckitmc, L 197. 



Loadna. 16i8, p. 447 



JBSITIT SODALITIES AT WOKK 323 

"The Jesuits constantly admit the laity, even married, 
into their Company. This fact is certain. There is no doubt 
that Des Noyers, Secretary of State under Louis XIII., was 
of this number, or that many others have been so too. 
These licentiates make the same vow as the Jesuits, as far 
as their condition admits: that is, unrestricted obedience to 
the General, and to the Superior of the Company. They 
are obliged to supply the place of the vows of poverty and 
chastity, by promising to gire all the service and all the 
protection in their power to the Company, above all to be 
entirely submissive to the Superiors and to their Confessor. 
They are obliged to perform with exactitude such light 
exercises of piety as their Confessor may think adapted to 
the circumstances of their lives, and that he simplifies as much 
as he likes. It answers the purpose of the Company to ensure 
to itself those hidden auxiliaries whom it lets off cheaply. 
But nothing must pass through their minds, nothing must 
came to their knowledge that thetj do not reveal to their Con' 
fessor; and that which is not a secret of the conscience, to 
the Superiors, if the Confessor thinks fit. In everything, 
too, they must obey, without comment, the Superior and 
the Confessors." * 

Writing early in the nineteenth century, the Abb^ De La 
Roche Amauld, who had once been an inmate of a Jesuit 
College, gave several particulars of the work of the Con- 
gregations and Sodalities affiliated to the Jesuit Order. He 
states that, under the guidance of Father Ronsin, the head 
of the Paris Jesuits: "Distinct Congregations began to be 
formed of Nobles, of men of moderate fortune, ot military 
men, of women and of children. Father Varin was ordered 
to take charge of the city people (bourgeosie), Father Roger, 
of the artizans, the men of the Fauxbourg St. Marceau, 
and the military; while other Jesuits participated the sub- 
ordinate divisions. Father Ronsin monopolised the care of 

1 Memoirt of the Duke of S&iiU Simon, toI. iii., p. 268. Edition 190S. 



324 



TBB JEauixa tN a&EAr bbitjuh 



all men of the State. Id his Congregation they were to 
be seen of evftry grade^ from the Duke Mathieu down to 
the Apoetolic Nuocio; multitudes of very CbrlfttUn Barons, 
Dukeflf Princes, Marquise, CounU, Cardinals, Bishops, 
Deputies, Prefects, and a host of men distinguished lor 
eel eb ri ty , wealth , influence ^ and especially for f anati cism . 
The young persons who belonged to the class of citizens, 
and who ha^l acquired notice for their extraTagaot seal, 
obtained, as a rery extraordinary f^Tour, admittance to the 
grand Congregation; places of profit and dignity were obtained 
for them." ' 

These Congregations and Sodalities hav^e proved yery 
serviceable to the Jesuits in promoting their political schemes. 
A valuable description of their operations in France dunng 
the first half of the nineteenth century is given by Dr. E. H. 
MicheUen, in his Modfrn Jesuitum^ publifihed in 185S. The 
extract from hie book which I am now about to give is 
lengthy, but the importance of the subject must be my excuse 
for giving it here to my readers. He writes :— ^ 

"Theee mifisionary doiugs, however pemiciooa in themMlves, 
were far from beiog the greatest 6viLi» brought upon Prance hy ihe 
Jesuits. It waa the Congregation by which the Jeauit^ beojuuft i 
real plague to the land^ and at the »arnc time obj«ct« of populv 
hiitretl and persecution, We look upon the Congr^ation, UuU 
remarkable »y&tem of aasocifltioti in its most flouriahiug and ai- 
tensivci deifelopnQent, in which the Jesuits have always bees gre*t 
nifidier:^ — &y, much greater even than iu their ayst«m of educaiion 
— aj the true o-rffont THE QKkvSD SECRbT o/ ihe wmTi^nm influence 
wtUeh tkey hewe for eenturieM fxerciaed up<m EuT<>pcan »cie(j/, Bj 
means of that peculiar ey^teni, the Order of Loyola joined to the 
atandiug army of ite spirituAt or reai members, who were bottod 
to live according to the rules of their order, alao an army of 
Beoular volunteers, J^enite in short ooata or skirts [A robe aovrte), 
who were not in the least diiUiirbed in their ordinarr oalting and 
trftde^ and of whom nothing was required but that they should 
wear certain eacred appendages as a *ign of recognition, say daily 
a ehort prayer, now and theu participate in the moi« heavy 
exerciaea of the Churchy and engage Uiemeelvea by « simple tow 
for a ceitatn (imQ {in IVancer ifor InetAucet for the term of fivo 
^earjt), to render all possible fiervicos to the Order, and obey itn 
lUBJructions. In return, they were promieed a ready promotion of 



I 



I 



* I%* Mpd^n f«tHitw, Bj L'ibW De U R 'tsbe Arotnld, London, 1S£7. p. U^- 



JESUIT S0DALtTi£5 AT WOKE 



325 



their worldly Ytews &nd interesU, and abaolutiou and indulgence 
of all Bins and traDBj^reAsiDna, Neither were tbeae promisee einptj 
words incapable of realisation. The mij^hty and widely ramihed 
Order of St. Ignatius whs powerful enough to procure by ita interest 
far ^eAl«r Advantages to individtiala, (ban eouki any other Cor- 
poration, Fralermty, or even secular power. Hence the great 
ladlity with which they acted upon ail clasftee of sooiety, by 
holding out the seductive prospecU of ambition or pecuniary gain, 
accordinj^ to the views nud the poeitton of the iniitviduala whom 
they wished to enliet iu their service. In recent times, io parti- 
cular, the succeaa of the Order rested chieHy on the co-operation 
with itd standing army (the real tonsured members) of the innumer- 
able hOBta of volunteers, the JeHuits iu short coats, who had been 
enlii^ted from all clashes of tiio popnlation. Tbis was not only 
the case in France alone, but also in all countries where the 
dificiples of I^nfttins have been permitted to settle and acquire 
power and wealth. We shall dwell at some length upon this 
peculiar branch of Jeauitical operations^ because, havijig obtained 
in France ita utmost d^velopnieot, it affords the best histonoal 
clue for sketching its historical outhne. 

** Already, under the Consulate, the work of the Association had 
ailer a long intemiption, been resumed by the Jeeuita. One of 
the 'Fathers of the Faith/ Pater Bourdier Delpuite (of AavergneJ 
had, in IBOI, founded in Paris the *ConjfregBtion of the Holy Virgin, 
under which name a similar Fraternity had been eslahlished in 
France by the Jesuits in 15B3, under the sjinction of the then 
Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal de Belloy* The Congregation 
founded at the be^nning of the present century counted members 
indiecriniinately from all classes of society, and chiefly served as 
a sort of receptacle of aU element of discontent. It consisted of 
ftll persons who were displeased with the preTailiiig systems in 
^relijfion' or poUtica..., 

** With the restoration of the Bourbons the activity of the 'Con- 
gregation * becajne much more extended. The dietinguished favour 
shown to the Society by the brother of Louie XVIIL, Count Artois, 
and bis higoted daoghter-in-law the Duchess of Angoulfime, even 
\n the tirst week ^^r their return to PariSf soon stamped the 
'Congregation^ as a union of the highest distinction in the fashion- 
able world. But the Keal which the union displayed in opposing 
the National Charter and Constitutional Monarchy^ soon constituted 
it the central point of all uUra^Koyal and Ultramontane agitations. 
Again, the veiry con^prehensive plan which the Congreiinitioo had 
in view— the reconstruction of the sovereign and absolute power of 
the Glaurch — required a previous reorganisation of its own society 
on a much broader basis^ It was indeed, to this Utter work that 
the Loyoliies a^spM^d all their energ:ies. The one large 'Congregar 
tton,' which had been composed indiscriminately of all classes of 
society, was divided by Pater Itonsin, their Superior, into Aeverftl 
sections for the dilTereut classes of the population respectively*. *. 
All these Congregations had been Christoned by several natnea in 
connection with the Catholic Church. There were OoDjn^fpdioiu 
for the 'Didfusion of Belief,' and for the 'Defence of the Oatholic 
Religion/ Gonc:r«gataoii« of the * Sacred Mysteries/ of th^'fioly 



326 



TBK jmoiTS W GRRiT BRtTUN 



SftcrftinefiC of thnt of the 'Virjfin.' of th» 'Sacred Bosary,' iht* 
'Holy Sofulchr^,* of 'Sairil T^>ni* of GotixiitfA/ of 'Sftinl Jos^i^h.' 
aud niAt>y otbere of a similar chAmcter. Tbey were divided in 
tens &Dd hiindroilH, futd po^e^iiised leaderfl or Stifrerinra of bmh 
eexei», women slIhu t>eiii)^ m^mbera of the Qon^ef^ivltou. Tli€«e 
leaders collected the weekly or monthly stibeuripiiuLiH (labourers 
and flervante paid one ^ou weekly)^ whicli thry handed over to 
the Jeauita, their chiefs, iti addition to the^e aubeonptionar ^^ 
merabftrti on CDteHup the Oonj^re^ftUon were obliged to engage 
themselves by a solemu ontb to ' prumule the pr«at cause o[ Ood 
and the Holy Virgin by all pu^eible meanK in th«'ir pow«r.' 

** Wh^n we consider thiit the first divigioti ultinintely liumbered 
over a thou^^ud memhetA oi the hiji^liebt aristocratic faniilieSf of 
whom the greater part w^e either fanaticH or blockheads, or 
probably both to|?*?Uier, and that many ox thea hati allotted th* 
greatest part of their adduaI iuconte, amounting to from sixty 
thouii^nnd to one buadred chou^ini frauee. to the service of the 
Sooiety^ it will esisily be ionceired what vast sums of mont^y the 
Jesuits niu8i have bad »t (heir command in the iu(^troi>4»lit4, aa 
alao ill the lar^e and middle tnwriei of France, We Ar« asju-tirdd 
by a very credible utiihor (Ikrche Arnniild) that in the first yean 
Of the reign of Charles X. npwardfl of 6,(KIO,000 of individtials had 
belonged to the Con^rreKtUion, who, a^i a matter of counse^ stMod 
at the entire diBpo?^al of the Order. 

'']t wnd uaturul th»t the 'Conin'C'Kntion/ with Btich tneatis in 
hand, should nhinmtely exercise iidliu*nce alao on the govertimeiit 
of the country. Indeed, it formed the soul of that Fnvy Cotincil 
of Louifi XVHE., which posseseed alroiidy, in 181^0^ pow*>r *-iiougl) 
to carry through the Houe« or Cka/tubr^^ the famous or infaruoua 
three law^ n^Hinnt the preBfl, individual liberty* and reform of ihe 
eJective i-ynteni* The new order of things, to which these laws 
bad paved tlie way, received its beet Mipport in the succeeding 
year (15th tieteniber, 1821) by the nomiuHtum of a Ministry whoi« 
memberi* belonged to the * Gonvregation/ and who were con- 
sequently Jesnit^ in the proper ^ente ol the lerin. Vill^le, Hinisbar 
of Finance, and Oorbiferei Minister of the Interior^ were known to 
be amouget the tno»t Kealoue and iniest members of the *Gon- 
(fTOfffltion/ while the Ih(ke ol Montmorency^ Mitiieter of Foreign 
Affairs, was evtsn oiie of tiie chiefs of the flociety. Aa niembCTS 
of the ConKrej?atioii, they were in duty l>ouud to fill all th« 
subordinate placea of the admiuietration with the creatures of the 
socieiVt or rather with Jeijuits. And eo th^y did* M. Heuneviile, 
who had shortly before left the Jesuit schCHikl at 3t* Acheul, be- 
came Chief of "the Cabinet Bureau; Franchet, a Con^reKatiooist, 
became Director of the Police of ihe Kiiij^dom ; and another, a 
certain Delavan, Prefect t»f the Police at Pari*. The Prefecturfae 
and Bub- Prefectures, the posts in ihe States' Council and EiubaasieSt 
and, as a matter of court»e, the Episcopal Chairs, were getierally 
Xiven to persons recommended by the *Con|?reieation/ The ante- 
chambers of the Jesuit Presidenta. Ronsin and Jeniiesseaux (the 
latter beiup Attorney General of the Province of France), wert 
usually filled with courtiers and supplicaDbs for places, while tb« 
lliaisterial ofi^ces swafmed with clerks taken from the Gonsrega^odtL 



I 
I 



J18UIT SODALITIES AT WORK 327 

"'Qreat was, moreoTer, the aapervision and vifi^lance of the 
Oongpregation over private and family life, by other and difTereut 
means. By the vast number of offices established by it for the 
placing of clerks, valets, tutors, nurses, chambermaids, j^rooms, 
oooke, etc., and at the head of which generally stood some ladies 
of high rank, the ConKre^^ation had the beet means of making 
sure of the services of the needy classes. The families, moreover, 
who applied to such offices for servants, etc., became thereby 
known to the society as belonging to their friends to whom applica- 
tion might be made in nece:isaTy cases. But the principal object 
gained by these offices was the confession and confidential informa- 
tion given by the individuals who had obtained places, reports 
by wnich the members were enabled to become familiar with all 
the secrets of family life, with all its wants and foibles, with all 
tta wishes and defects." ^ 

Is it, I may here venture to ask, unreasonable to assume 
thai the Jesuits of the present day, work their Sodalities 
and Congr^ations, for both sexes in Great Britain, on similar 
lines to those so forcibly described by Dr. Michelsen ? If 
80, their eiistence in our midst constitutes a very grave 
danger indeed. But the secret history of these later doings 
jet remains to be written. Here, however, we discover who 
are the men and women in every rank of life who are doing 
work for the Jesuits, while they discreetly keep in the back- 
ground as much as possible. The few hundreds of Jesuit priests 
residing in Great Britain and Ireland do not constitute the 
whole of the Order*s servants. They are only the officers 
of a very large army, all subject to the orders of a foreigner 
owning no allegiance to Edward VII. — the General of the 
Jesuits in Rome. And this army, should the commands of the 
General ever conflict with the laws of our King £dward VII., 
will obey the General in preference, and let the King look 
after himself. A more unsatisfactory body of nominal sub- 
jects does not reside in His Majesty's dominions than the 
Jesuit Army described in these pages. Their officers have, 
again and again, been driven out of every Roman Catholic 
country. Ought they not, as a matter of strict justice, to 
be expelled also from the British dominions — not only from 

1 Modem Je$mii*m. By Dr. E. 11. MirbelseD. I^ndon. 1863, pp. 168—170 



I 



I 



TBS JKSeiTS IN GREAT BftiTJlIN 

the mother country, but froiQ all our Colonies and Depend- 
enciea aUo? 

The Sodalities affiliated to the Prima Priinaria are not, 
htjwever, it will have been oljserved, confined to men. 
Women also have their Sodalities equally under the sole 
control of the General of the Jeyuits. Mr. Edmund Waterton, 
a Roman Catholic writer, gives us the following particultTB 
as to these female Sodalities, the members of which ire 
known as "Children of Mary"r — 

**In many Convents there are Congregattons or CJonfralcrmtiw 

of our Blesaed Ladye, the members of which are called £rif<mU 
df Marie, or Children of Mary ;~iu Italiaii, F^lif tid i/oHo, Tb<Mje 
which fkre erected by a diploma of the Clonera] o( tbe Society ot 
Je^ua are brancbea of the ^ent Prima Primaria Sodality, and 
enjoy all the pHvile^if^ and indul>;6iiceD attiikchtid bo it, in comiuoD 
with all other Sodali^ts, A disttncLion, therefore^ iuu»t be nukd^ 
between th^ Ii)n./ant^ dtt Jfarif, or Lady ^odalietd, who &f« affiliated 
to the Prima Primaria, aiid those Enfant* <U Marie who are nieio- 
bets of some local or tonventiiul Confratemity which bad no 
conneGtion with the Prima Pritnaria, 

"On the 7th of Jjinuary, 1837, the Cougregalion or Aaeo4:iatioii 
of the Fit^li* di Maria, erected in the Coiivetit of the Sacred Heart 
of Je^us in Trinity de' Monti at liojne, w>in afhliausd lo the Prima 
Primaria in the Roman Ctdlege, The Sodulity of GitU erecUd at 
Bt, Mary's, Hampsteud, was aflMiaied to the Prima Primaria by 
Letters of Ag^jjjeKatiou of the General ol the St^eiety of JeeuSi dated 
Rome, Dececuber 5lh, 1874," * 

1 have been unable to learn how many female Sodalities 
are affiliated to the Jesuit Prima Frittuiria, though there 
can be no reason to doubt that wherever the Jesuits me 
at work every effort is made to increase the number. And 
as all the members are expected to obey the commands of 
their Directors, who are guided by the General of the Jesaits, 
they must prove very serviceable auriliaries to the Order, 
GirU are induced to join at a "rery early age, while at Ladies* 
Schools under Jesuit influence^ and their memberBbip of the ■ 
Sodality which they join may be continued throughout tlieir 
liv^. When of high rank in society their influence must 
tell efiectuiilly towards the furtherance of any schemes 
the Jesuits may have on hand from time to time, 

* Pielfi^ Mariana (iritaaua-t. By KUiiiLuiJ Walerlmi, \k 105, 



1 

I 



THS rEKALB JE9DIT& 



339 



In a memoir written about the jear 1678, by on© whom 
the Can adian h istori wx Park man says, was pro b abl j tb e 
Abb^ Reuaudot, **a learned Churcbman/* the way in which 
one of the female Sodalities erected by the Jesuits in Quebec, 
waa used by them, is clearly stated. In this document, saya 
Farkman, '*It is added that there exista in QuebeCf under 
the auspices of the Jesuits, an aasociation called the Sainte 
Famille, of which Madam Bourdon is Superior. They me«t 
in the Cathedral every Thursday, with closed doors, where 
they relate to each other — as they are bound by a tow to 
do^ali they have learned, whether good or evil, concerning 
other people, during the week. It is a sort of female 
Inquisition, for the benefit of the Jesuits, the secrets of 
whoNe friends^ it is said, are kept^ while no such discretion 
is obserTed with regard to persons not of their party.^* * 

And here it may be useful to pay »ome attention to the 
great influence which the Jesuits have exercised over several 
<*onr6ntual Orders of women in the Church of Home. The 
Hrst instance of this kind ia related to the history of the 
Institute, founded in the seventeenth century by Mary Ward, 
commonly known as the Female Jesuits. The liie of this 
lady has been edited by a Jesuit priest in two thick volumes, ' 
It seems that all through her life she was under Jesuit 
influence, and that three of her uncles were Gunpowder Plot 
conspirators. Early in hfe she had, at times, very strange 
ideas of duty. We are told, for instance, by one of her 
intimate friends that:— '^ She being of herself in the highest 
degree neat and dainty, thought necessary to curb it, which 
she did by lying in bed with one of the matds thnt liaj the 
itch, and got it." * When Mary Ward was only twenty-three 
years of age the IDiif^liiih Jesuits described her bb ''entirely 
under the direction of Ours/* * After spending a ehort time 



pp, 110 HI. Kaiiiou urn. 

* Tkt Li/* of M*rf M'vti. Lij yimtj (\ B. Chinibrr*. 
* UU, rot. I. p. 4&. 



Jft[|j«a Col«ri ire, Si. 






330 



THE lS8UtT0 IN QBKIT GRITUN 



as a novice in a French conTeot of Poor Clarei at St. Omer s 
"ahe formed/' writes the Hon, Edw&rd Petrid^ **a project 
of anothtir establishment of reli||jrious woioen. who should 
be bouud by certain vow«. but without enclosure; and whose 
princ i pal occ u pation »b ould be to ed it eata y oung ladies. 
This ehe attemj>ted by the advice of father Roj^er Lee, and 
other Jt^auits. She began with several younf^ ladies, in a housti 
at 3t Omer^s, about the year I60<). The Jeauits mainlj 
supported their cause, and endeavoured to procure their 
establishment. Hence ther were called Jesuites&ea, but some- 
time:3 also WardUis/* ' The dute, it appears, should ha?e 
been given as 1607, not 1603, Three years later the Jesuits 
of St. Omer, in their Annual Letters mentioned that the new 
Order of Nuns **are assisted apiritually by our Fathers/' 
In 1614 they numbered between forty and fifty persons* In 
1615 Mary Ward sent a Memorial to the Pope asking 
for his approval of the new Order she had founded, and 
requesting that, like the Jesuit Order^ they might not be I 
subject to the rule of any Bishop. '* We humbly beff," 
she said, *Uhat neither the Bishop, nor any one appointed 
to make the annual visibifion, shall have over us anv other 
authoritj than that of informing himself of the eiact observ- 
ance of the rules and the Iniititute, but that he may neither 
change nor add anything thereto, either with regard to our 
end or to the means by which it is to be attained/' ' Thft 
answer was most favourable (though the new *' Institute/' 
as it was termed in the Papal reply, was not formally 
conBrmed at that time) and consequently Mary Ward went 
on her way rejoicing. The General of the Jesuita also 
showed his approval at about the same time. Soon after sh« 
came to England, with the object of startiQg branebes of 
her new Institute, and gaining new novices at the same time. 



^ Sotirf* of Ihf K*tuUth Cifliepft &nd Conr-ntj ItfaUiiAf^ oh theContimhit. 
H; tlic llou. Gdwaril PBtrio. Bdilf^l bj- ilie lt«v K. Huwiibvtli, p 1»fl. £N»r 
wich, 1S49.) 



THE FBHALE JESUITS 331 

While in England her influence seems to have been most 
injurious to Protestantism, if we may rely on the statement 
said to have been made by the then Archbishop of Canter- 
bury : '^ That woman had done more harm than many priests, 
and he would exchange six or seven Jesuits for her.'* 

In 1622 Mary Ward petitioned Pope Gregory to formally 
confirm her Institute, to whom she stated that she wished 
its members to take upon them in the future, as they had 
during the previous twelve years, "the same holy Institute 
and order of life already approved by divers Popes of happy 
memory to the religious Fathers of the Society of Jesus.** 
'* We," she continued, '• humbly beseech that by the author- 
ity of the See Apostolic, the aforesaid Institute (holily 
observed by the said Fathers of the Society of Jesus, with 
so great fruit to the Universal Church) together with their 
Constitutions, manner of life, and approved practice (altogether 
independent, nevertheless, of the said Fathers) may likewise 
be approved and confirmed, in and 'to us, to be entirely 
practised by us . . . beseeching it will please your Holiness 
to receive this our whole company into your and their 
especial care and protection, not suffering Bishops in their 
particular Dioceses or others whomsoever, to have auy ordinary 
authority or jurisdiction over us." * 

The biographer of Mary Ward says that " This memorial 
certainly could never be accused of want of plainness of speech. It 
asked for the establishment of an Order exactly like the Society 
of Jesus.** At this time Mary Ward wished for the help of the 
General of the Jesuits, but though willing to help her in 
private, he was afraid to give public approval to her Insti- 
tute. There were secular Roman Catholic priests in England 
at that time who were very much opposed to Pontifical 
confirmation being given to the Institute. These gentlemen^ 
including their chief, the Archpriest of England, had had some 
unpleasant experiences of the work and character of Mary 
Weird's Female Jesuits in England, and therefore they sent 

> li/e of Mary Hard, toI. ii., pp. 9, 10. 



332 



THB JESmxa IN O&SAT BBITA-HT 



a memorial to the Pope full of charges agEiaat them, 
sigaed by ten of their number. " These women," they 
declared, *' are commonlj called Jesuitreases, because tbej 
live according to the Rule and Institute of the Jesuit FatbeiSi 
and under their government and discipline/' 

'Theae Jesuitres»eAj" they continue, "lubve a habit of frequently 

^oiag about cities and provinces of the Kingdom [of finglandj, infiinu- 
Ating themselves into housea of noble Catholics, cbangtog their 
habit ofteOf sometimes iravellmg like eome ladiea of fijBt conee- 
qiience, in eokt^he^ or carriages with ft respecCable suite, Kimetiniei, 
on the contr^r)', like common servanta or women of lower nrnk, 
alone and private. But any one will e^^ily Bee how dangerotu 
it ifl, and occAaionary of many flcandals, lh»t women should go 
about housea in tbia fa^hton, wander hither ^nd thither at will... 

"Thev are ft j^eat tthame and disigrace to the Catholic religioo, 
so much BO that not only herctica (for wlioni theee women occa^ioiL 
many jokea in public declamations) calumniate the CachoUc faith 
on this account, as if tt could not be supported or propagated 
otherwise than by idle and garruioua women, but they have a very 
bad reputation even amon^»t the most influential Catholics (by 
whom their dlflciple:}, in familiar speech, are called eometime« 
Galloping Girls, becaupe they ride hither and thither, sometimea 
ApoBtoiicas Viroffines). Besides, they are found to iD«nifesC such 
gamility and loquacity in words^ and to display such boldneai 
and raahne^fi in common intercourse, that they are for the meet 
part not only ^ scorn but a great scandal too to many pioai 
people, when they gee that many things are done and said by ih«iii 
both unbecoming to their sen, and untimely and incKinvenieot Co 
the CaLholic reliKiou, labouring in the midat of heresiee. So to 
them the Apostolic taunt seams exactly to apply: 'Idle women 
learn to ruo about houses, not only idle, but wordy and cariaoa, 
speaking what they ought not.' 

•' Some of these Jesuitressea, behaving publicly in this way, are 
observed to have a very bad character, and are very much talked 
about for petulance and indecorum, with very great scandal and 
dts^riics to the Catholiu religion. All these things duly coiisidereJ, 
we have ressou to wonder what the Fathers of the Society mean^ 
when they assert themaeives to be inotlerHtors^ patrons, and 
defendera of these women, whilst all other mgulara, prieste^ and 
Ihe Jaity themeelves protest, and condemn an Institute of this 
kind as liable to very many dangers and scandals. For it ts clear 
enough that the Jesuit Fathers are eipressly forbidden by the 
precepts of their own rule to involve ihemaeivea or meddie witb 
the government of any women whaLeoever; and yet the Jesuit^ 
reseea eo make use of them alone in the admiuisbration of their whole 
life and of thoir affairs, both in and out of England, that it seems to 
them a penance to admit any other priest but a Jesuit even to receive 
the secrets of their conscience in the Sacrament of Fenance/' ' 



< 



i li/t 0/ Mary W^ard, toL \U p^ l^Si IBd. 



TH* FEKALB JBaUITS 



333 



I 



These were very serious charges to make, yet coming 
as they did from praminent Rotnaa Catholic priests of known 
personal respectability, it cannot be auppoaed that they were 
the products of mere malice or envy, or thai they were 
made thus formally in a memorial to the Pope^ without 
Bome careful previous enquiry as to their accuracy. Of course 
modem Jesuits deny the accuracy of these charges, but agaJDst 
their unsupported denials we must place the teetiinony often 
of the le^ing RomaQ Catholic prieste of the periodi whose 
falsehoods would — had they really been falsehoods — no doubt 
ha^e been exposed and refuted at the time. They seem, in 
any case, to have influenced the Pope very powerfully. Mary 
Ward's biographer candidly acknowledges that the charges 
of the Memorial, when laid before the Pope, constituted a 
stroke which ** told with good effect/* ' The Pope refused the 
petition for confirmation of the Institute, though he aUowed its 
members to go on working without it eren in Rome itself. 

The offorta of her opponents having failed to induce the 
Pope to suppress the Institute, Mary Ward pushed forward 
its work with great ^eal, and in the course of the next few 
years she was able to open several new Houses connected 
with the Institute in different parts of the Continont, in which 
the education of young ladies was the principal work. But 
though the opposition was checked for a time, it wad not 
remoTed altogether. Amid all the troubles of these Female 
Jesuits the Society of Jesus was their best friend. Its 
priests supported them against all their foes. At length the 
oppositioQ became so powerful as to lead to Mary Ward's 
being actually denounced to the Inquisition, by whose orders 
she was, in 1631, imprisoned in a Con?ent on suspldcn of 
being a heretic. Afler about two months' close confinement 
ill this prison she was, by the Pope'a orders, released, as 
innocent of the charges laid against her But, unfortunately 
for herself and her Institute, her release wa^ quickly follawed 



£«/# a/" M^ry W^/trd, vol. ii., fK A2. 



334 



TBS 



U? GEKAT BJUTAIH 



( 



by ft Bull fsf Pope Urban VUL suppressing her lostituf^ i 

altog^ather. This Bull stated that the ladies who formed 
the Iniftiiiite had *'' carried out works hj no means Buitmg' 
the weakness of tbeir sex, womanlj raodeatj, above all, 
virginal parity, and which men most experienced in the 
knowltds'e of the Sacred Scripture, and the conduct of affairs, 
undertake with difficulty, and not without great caution;'" M 
and that they **atill, with arrogant contumacy, have attempte<l ^ 
like things daily, and uttered many things contrary to sound 
doctrine.^^ ' 

The Bull of Suppression would have extdn^^ehed all hope 
and enei^y in an ordinary woman. But, it must be con- 
fessed, Mary Ward waH no ordinary woman, for she po cwcope d 
more than a woman\s average share of courag-e and perse- 
Terauee. But these alune would not have sutHced to induce 
her to go on with her work afler such a crushini? blow. 
P'ortunately for her she had at hand the crafty advice of 
the ablest beads of the Jesuit Order, who very speedily 
devised a plan by which she was enabled to go on with her 
work almost as thoug-h nothing had happened. She actually 
went to the Pope and obtained his permission t-o gather 
certain of her late members to work together with her at Rome. 
With this permission sh@ at once set to work to build up 
again (he organisation which the Pope's Bull had deairoyed. 

On the ruina of the suppressed Society of ^^ Jesuitreaaea,'* 
aa they were termed in the Bull of Pope Urban, Marj 
Ward at once built up " The Institute of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary»" in reality the same thing under another name^ In a 
work i^ued by the English Jesuits in 1887, we are informed 
that; "Mary Ward^ with the banction, and under the pro- 
tection of the Pope who had decreed the suppression, gathered 
around her the scattered remnant of her flock, and at the 
eipreBS desire of the Holy Father, established a house in 
the Papal city, where she and her children could follow 
their method of life within the range of supreme eccIeAia^tic*) 

» Li/r iff M«ry Wvii, rol. ii., pp. »8d S$7. 



i 



THE mSTITCTI OF THS BLESSED TIBGIN 335 

supervision. Thus, under the eye of the Sovereign Pontiff 
the new Institute was formed and fashioned." * The same 
writer further remarks that : — ^' She truly was the inaugurator 
or pioneer of that now widely-spread system of uncloistered 
Religious Congregations of women, formed to meet the 
exigences of modem times, whose position and work in the 
Church enjoy at the present day the full recognition and 
approbation of the Holy See; while in regard to the Institute 
of Mary, although it is legally inadmissible to apply to her 
[Mary Ward] the formal title of 'Foundress,' for reasons 
specified in the Introduction to the second volume of her 
Life^ it is clearly shown by the same authority, that she 
was the agent which Divine Providence employed in its 
formation, and that its members are free, and ever have 
been free, to regard her at least as the * Mother ^ under God, 
to whom their existence was in the first instance owing." ' 
The new Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary continues 
to the present day its close connection with the Society of 
Jesus. It is not formally afBliated to it, and in theory may 
be said to be independent of it; but in reality it is guided 
by the priests of that Order, since wherever it works, and 
wherever possible, members of the Jesuit Order are the 
Father Confessors and Spiritual Directors of the Sisters. 
Besides this, the Constitutions of the Institute are taken 
from those of the Society of Jesus, with the result that 
the members of this Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
are as much entitled to be termed Jesuitresses, as those who 
in the seventeenth century were known by that name to Roman 
Catholics and Protestants alike. The Institute possessed in 
1887 no fewer than 149 Houses in various parts of the world. 
Of these 66 were in Bavaria, 6 in Darmstadt, 5 in Prussia, 3 in 
Austria, 6 in Tyrol, 5 in Hungary, 4 in Italy, 2 in Spain, 
2 in Turkey, 5 in £ngland (now 6), 19 in Ireland, 11 in 
India, 8 in Canada, 1 in the United States, 3 in Australia, 

) St. Maiy*t Comremt, York. Eaitod bj Uearj Junes Coleridge. S.J.. pp. 4, S. 
* Ibid., pp. 2. 3. 



336 



THl JESDtTS nr <?ReiT BRiTirv 



1 in Afriea» and 2 in Mauritiua. The English Houses of the 
Inetitute arc at London, Cambridge, Ascot, York, and Leek. 

With theae facta before m we cannot doabt th&t the 
Institute of tha Blessed Virgin is a poirerful auzili&rjr of 
the Je&uit Order« though it may not be fonnaify subject to 
its controL The influence of the Jesuit priests who act as 
Spiritual Directors and Confe*»sora of the various Houses of 
the Institute must necessarily be great. As all these Houses 
are devoted to the education of jouni^ girls, mainly if not 
exclusively of the well-to-do class, the influence of the Jesuits 
on the religious character of the pupils cAniiot but prove 
mo^t helpful to the Order. At any rate, those Protestants 
who are anxious to ascertain by what instruments the Jesuita 
carry out their policy and work^ must necessarily take into 
account their intimate relationship with the Institute of the 
Blessed Virgin, alias the female JeBuits, throughout the world. 

We must not, however, suppose that the influence of the 
Society of Jesus is felt only in tbe Institute of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary. From a book recently published, written by a 
Mi^ Steele, from infonnation supplied by the Convent 
authorities, and issued with a preface by Father Thurston, SJ. ' 
we learn for the first time how wide-spread this influence 
is in the Convents of this country. It wilt, no doubt, be a 
surprise to many of my readers to read that in no fewer 
than 71 Convents in En^tami alone ^ the Rules and Con- 
stitutions of the Jesuit Order have been adopted, so far as 
they are suited to women! As this includes, probably in 
every instance, the Blind Obedience to Superiors which i» 
such a very objectionable feature in the Jesuit Order, it is 
reasonable to suppose that i^ evil results will be even mcvn 
severely felt by women than by men. Blind Obedience to 
a tyrannical Mother Superior must frequently lead to bitter 
suffering by those subject to her rule. These 71 Conveoli 
are united to 17 Conventual Orders or Congregations, vii. : — 

^ n^ C^ptmtt of GrtiU Bnt^w. By FraottHA M. St«le. W»tfcPT^be«^ 

Fttliw Thiin(an. 5 J. (Loudaut S«Bdt tod Co.. IBOt.} 



i 

I 

I 
I 



JESUITISM [^ ENOIISJI C0>IV£KT3 



337 



**8iRi0ri of the Tmnpls*' with 1 Convent, at Glifron Wood, near 
Bristol. 

'*Tht Compatxy of St, Urwula," with 1 Convent. &t Oxford, 

" 5ffii*r# De La Crow," with 1 Convent* at Boacomhe, Boamemoutb. 

** SofriHy of Mary,^ with 3 Conveuta, at Clapham Park, B.W^ 
Butnhum, and Wettlou-super-Miire. This Cougregation, saya Mies 
Bteela, WAa founded " under tbo directioii of tb€ Kev. Father Hnby, 
of the Society of Jeatja." \ 

^'Saemd Hewi JVU-na/* with 5 Conveuta, at Boeh Am pUm , Brighton, 
WAtidBWorth, Hammerstuith, and Carlisle. Mioa Staete at^tes that 
'they receive ladies for Retrente given by the Jeemt Fath^ra in 
their Conveutfi,"' "Tbia Order," she further atatea» " was founded 
by the Venerable Madeleine Sophie Barftt and F^re V&rin, fiX" 

'♦DamM Dt Vlvitfru^ion ChriHenne" with 1 Convent, at Sherborne. 

**8i»ier» of Notre Tkane" with 17 Conveute, at Clapham ♦ Blackburn, 
Liverpool (3), Mant*hester. Northampton, Wigan, Sheffield. Soath- 
w»rk, 8t, Helens, Plytuouth, Norwich, Birkdale, BAtteraea, Brixton, 
*nd Leed», These Sisters have charge at Liverpool of a Training 
CoUefte for younE? women desirous of becoming teachers in Element, 
ary HcUoola under Government inspection- 

** irwh Hisi^n of Charity" with 3 Conventfi in Engl&nd, at Bock 
Ferry, Birkenhead, and Haokney. 

**SisirrM of Ckrifitian Edueatum** with 1 Convent, at Famborough. 

" JuaHt*it4> of tks SUttrs of St, Mary" with 2 Convents, at Biehop'a 
Stortf*.*rd and RhyL 

*' Faithful Cmnpanion4 of JfMttJt" with 13 Convent*, at leleworth, 
Someri^ To^h'n, Foplar, Chester, Birkenhead (2), Salford, Manchester, 
Middlesbrough* Ijiverpool, Frealon, Skipton, and Went H&rtlepooL 
or tbta Order Mtaa Steele informs na LhaL '* The principal Rule« of 
the Institute were supplied by the Society of JeauB, vnder who9e 
dirrc^iifjn it tifoi founded?** 

" D(Ui{}hteri of thfi Cros*^'* with 7 Conventf, at Chelsea, Brook 
Green, Totceridge, Margate^ Bury, Manchester, and Carsbalton. 

** IfuttiiuU of Perpetual Adoration," with 1 Convent, at Balham. 
Thifl Institute " waa founded about fifty yeixz^ ago^ with the asfiiit- 
ance of a liel^'ijm priest, Father Jean Baptiate Boone, SJ"* 

" InjtHhiU o}' JffirfV Riparatrict" wilb 1 Convent, at Chiiwick. 

•* Heif^rt of the Holy Smdn" with 1 Convent, at Gloaoevter Boad, 
Be^ent^s Park, Londnn. 

« Poor S^TKinii of the Moih^ of Qod" with 7 Convents, at SL 
Helena, LiverpooL Rhyl, Hoohampton, StmathiiiB, Breatford, aod 
Bcho Square, W.C. 

Theae^ with the 6 Convents previously named as connected 
with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, make up the 
71 Convents iji England modelled after the pattern »et by 
I^atius Loyola. The spirit of thai notorious Order is 

« TAe Ctmwtmis of Great BtUain, By Fnnce*» U. StwU. WiUi Priface b; 
rtthcr Tbuntctti, S.J., |i. ISS. 

* l&vi., p. U». » Idid,, f. SOS, < /*«f., p* 2(i1. 



3^8 



THE JSaUITB nr GBEIT BKITim 



therefore working largely in England, m well as in Scot- 
land and Ireland, in our Colonies, and throng'bout the world, 
by means of Sisterhoods and ConTenta which in manj 
eases have been achially founded by prieats of that Society. 
Almost all of these ConTenta undertake the education of ^rU 
on Jesuitical principles, and everywhere they make special 
efforts to obtain as pupils the daughters of Protestant parents 
who may be foolish enough to entrust them to their care. 
Bat in addition to the help rendered to the Jesuits by 
those who are admitted to share in its supposed spiritual 
merits, by Sodalities of men and women afBliated to the 
Order, and by CouTents following its Constitution, there has 
b^n in the past — and for all I know may BiiU be in the 
present —a class of Roman Catholic priests of whose existence 
no Protestant writer appears hitherto to have heard, Cunouslj 
enough it is the Jesuits themselves who fii^ make known 
the existence of this class. In the oiHcial Records of iht 
English Province^ SJ.^ by Henry Foley, a lay Brother of 
the Order, there is found a brief biography of a Bev. Dr] 
Qeorge Olirer, a learned Roman Catholic priest of the e&rlj 
half of the nineteenth century. He was the author of] 
several important works, amongst them being his ColledimiX 
Towards Illustrating tite Biography of the Scotch^ English A 
and Irish Members^ S.J- In the Dedication of this book 
Dr. Oliver speaks of himself as outside of tiie Society of I 
Jesus. '* Without,*^ he writes, "possessing the merit aodj 
honour of being a member of the Society, yet to none Cftol 
I yield in sentiments of regard and veneration for this pious] 
Institute, as the Council of Trent styl^ it. To witness Ttal 
hereditary spirit of zeal and chanty throughout the EngUl 
Province, is, to me, a source of the highest gratiiicatioaJ'} 
This was telLng the truth, but not the whole truth. Hill 
Dr. Oliver told his readers the whole truth it would harel 
greatly lessened the value of his enthusiastic praise of the] 
Society* This is what Brother Foley, S J., writes about hjflj 
in his brief and official biography; — 



LlT£ltA&V SEBVAKtS OP TU£ JESUITS 



339 



** Oliver George, Rev., D.D*, was bora ia Newington, Surrey, 

February 9, 1781; educated at Sedgley Park find Stonyhnrst 

>Collef(es; tfiu^ht hnmanilie^ for five yo&n, and was oraained 

"prieat at Durham by Bialiop Gibson, at Pentecoat, 1806. He woi 

mearty the last survivor of a number of Cntholie ctergumen, Achalnt^ 

cf fA* English Jeguila^ who, ih<mgh never entering the. **yocieiy, aiway* 

remained in the Mervici of the English FroviTuse^ A KB subject To ITS 

flOPBfiiOiis. Soon after bis ordination be waa aent to the ancient 

Mismon of the Moiety, St, Nicholas, Exeter, in January 1807, as 

aucceaeor to Father VVilliftm Poole, or Pole. He served the MiBsion 

for forty-four years, reiired from active duty m I86l| aud died at 

£xeter a few years later at an advanced age." ^ 

Should wcj I may here ask, be far wrong io terming the cliiB 
of Roman Catholic priests thus described by Brother Foley, 
ft3 Crypto- Jesuits? It is true thej were not strictly entitled 
to the uanie Jesuit^^ but they evidently were in a position 
to secretly render more iinportiiiit service to the Order than 
many of its avowed memberB. It seems that Dr. Oliver was 
'■ nearly the last " of this mysterious body. Who were the 
others? Nobody knows, outside of the Society. Outwardly 
and to the world these gentlemen pretended to be indepen<- 
dent of the Order, in reality they were all " subject to its 
Superiors^' ! Is there such a body of Roman Catholic priests 
in existence to-day ? If they were in being one hundred 
yeara ago, what ia to prevent a body of successors being 
in the aerrice of the J^uits at the beginning of the twentieth 
eentnry? How can we now tell when we hear some secular 
Roman priest praising the Society, asi an outsider, that he 
is not really paid to do it by his Superiors, the Jesuits 
iheoiselves F 

It 13 certain, then, that a body of prieds have been in 
the service of the Jesuits, who ^Hhough never entering the 
Society, always remained in the service of the English 
Province, and subject to its Superiors." But here arises 
the question, is there a body of Roman Catholic lawmen 
holding the same position? Are not the lay members of 
the Sodalities affiliated to the Jesuit Order really in this 



^ Rf<iird$ of ikf knfflUA Fravimtf, HJ., voK vii.. \k 4ij9. 



340 



THX JBSDITfl III GRRAT BftltAtH 



position? They are certainly subject to their Directors, and 
pledged to obey tbeir commands ; while those Directors are 
subject to the General of the Jesuits. These Sodalities are 
not confined to the upper ranks of society. Special Sodal- 
ities exi&t for different classes of society* "The regulations 
of the Sodalities/^ says Father Garin, SJ., *'iti each csm 
can be adopted to the particular circamstances ot the mem^ 
bers/* ' And he relates that : — 



"At Naplea Ibe Bodaliiy owed Jts ortgin to the piety or the | 
Apostolic Nimeio, aoil int^hid«<l a\\ el&saea, hoTa the hi^heal to 
the bim^blesjt; for In the yo^r 161U four hundred fishermen io 
Naples were enrolled on the \Ui of luembera, ftnd b}- the eiact 
obetervAtice of atl the dntiee of reli^on, won th*? ftJiuirAtion of 
the city. At the end of the aeveutot'iitU century we tiad St. Fraucid 
Jerome presidinf^ at NapU^a over a Sodality of poor artisanis." ' 

But in addition to these rerj useful lay subjects of the 
Jesuits, the Order possessed in Canadri during the last half 
of the seventeenth, and the early portion of the eighteenth 
centmy, a class of lay servants bound to them by vows for 
life. Some interesting facts concerning these vowed servants 
of the Jesuits appear in one of the volumes ot &it important 
work published for subscribers only, in 73 voluruwa, by the 
Burrows Brothers Conipmiy, Cleveland, United States of 
America, entitled The JesuU I^ilation^ and Allied Documents. 
From a "Memoir'* therein published, from tlie pen of a 
Father Liillemant, S.J., in 161-, we learn that be, in 1638, 
before leaving France for Canada, had an interview with 
the Father Provincial of the French Jesuibs, to whom the 
Canadian Jesuits were subject, and received in writing hl& 
consent to the formiition in Canada of a body of Domestics 
for the service of the Society, who should not be Lsy 
Brothers, but yet be required to take a solemn vow to serte 
the Jesuits* all fheir tices^ the vow, says Father LallemanC, 
being '* word&d according to one which had formerly beea 

1 M^nutU for tk* Ut* «/ tkf Sud^ittH, {>, U. 



1 



I 



JESUIT DOKNiB 



341 



^^anied to fche ProTince of Cliampagne, and accepted btj Our 

Severend Fathf^r Oetierai.^' * These servants of the Order 

rere termed ** Doim^.*' " As for the matter of the tow," 

'says the same Jesuit, '*all eiternal oeremonies have been 
discontiaued, such as prououncing the form aloud on the 
day of reception; also, the public renewal of it which thej 
made. All is now done privafeftf by each one, uuder the 
direction of his Confessor.''* It was, therefore, evidently a 
secret transaction. Two years after Father Lallemant wrote 
this statement the General of thp Jesuits ordered the dissolu- 
tion of this organization for carrying on a portion of the 
Jesuits' work, but aiter expknations he revoked the decree 
of auppresaion, and allowed the work to be continued. 
Whether it still exists is more than I can say. According 
to the form of the vow taken by the Donn^, as printed 
in T%e Jesuit Relatim^ for the Erst time^ the members 
promise to go into " whatever part of the world " they may 
be sent. The tow itself was as follows;™ 

''I, the Undtjrfli^eil, doclrire that of my individual freewiJl I 
have given rayself to the Society of Jesuft, to serve and asabt with 
all my power'and diligence the Fatbftr* of the eaiil i>04.'iety* who 
work for the ealvation and oonverBion of »ou1b, and particularly 
ihoi*e who are enQplo3'ed in the conversion of the poor savages 
and liarburians of N«>w France amonit; the Hurons^ and this in 
euch nifithod and dres^ &a shall he required^ and tksA ^hall be judg^ 
most fluituble for the greater ^lory of God, without ciaitinn*: any- 
tUinjE else whatever except to live nnd die with the paid Fatkera 
in whatever part of the world I am required to be with them; 
leaving fo tbeir free diaiiftsition all that concema nie and mny belnng 
to uje {e3:cept what tsnall }fe declared in a t^peoiitl mtmit^randum 
djawxi up for ttai;! purpose), without deeiring that auy inventory 
Wsitle^ i^hmild be made of it — wiE^bing to ^ive up all fof God 
without Q,T\y reserve, or anv rt^^ource except Himself, In at^entation 
of vthich 1 hnvft Bi|t?ned the present declaralion which I pray tiod 
to blcaa and fnrever find acceptahlc, Done at the reisideuce of t?te, 
Marie of the Hurona, thia 23rd of December, 16S9." » 

Three years later those who look the tow aa Donn^ 
received irom the Superior a document accepting their 
BerTieesi in the following' tenns: — 

» The Jituii B^a.'ioiUt vol. iti., p, 203. 



342 



THl JESUITS IS GEIIT BBITim 



"J^ the nQ^ereif^ned, Buperior of tbe Mi&moDS of the Socie^ of I 
Jmub among tbe HurouB^ certify by these pTOAenta tbAt Jain f 
(.ludrin haviDg «arne«tly represented to us his desire to con»ecnt« 
himself to the servicse of God and otir Society, by voinng him^eif 
for the rest of bis life to the service of our Fathers who are amoBe 
ihe Hurons, and in other places of Kew FraocCj as eliall be decided 
to be for the greater glory of Qod^— -the same haviog given ua 
sufficient proof of his jJiety and fidelity. We, by thea© preeeoti, 
accept him aa Donn^ in the capacity of Domestic Serront durmg 
hia hretime, to cootinue in the same eorvicee as in the past, or 
in auch others aa we ahall deem adviaable, among the ftaid Hurons, 
or else where; promisiop^ on our part» to maintain him accordicg 
tn hiii condition with food and clothing, without other wa(r«t or 
claimB on bis part, and to care for him Ifindly in case of eicknem, 
f!ven to the end of hiH life, without being able to dismiss him in 
tutih caee, except with hin ovrn consent; provided that, on hia party be 
continue to live in uprightneaSf diligence, and fidelity to ourverrico, 
even as by these pre«entfl he promieea and biud« himself to do."' 

It will be observed that the unfortunate Donn^, by his 
TOW made himself, practicallj, the freewill slave of tbe 
Je^te for life, while the Jesuits could turn him off at any 
time, whenever he ceased, in their opinion, to serve them with 
" diligence and fidelity." It was a very profitable bargain 
for the Jesuits, who thus secured the services of a body 
of men for life, without having to pay ttem a penny in 
wages. Father Lallemant was evidently wide awake to the 
advantages to he gained by his Order ^om the services of 
the Donn^, for, in hia ** Memoir " he writes : — " Now 
these private vows [of the Donn^aj are more advantBgeous 
and necessary to xis in this country, thao one would at first 
suppose, since we have here no means of restraining people 
except by way of conscience. It is well to take into cod* 
sideration Domestics who have the management of temporal 
matters, and other tmnsient Domestics who are in the 
house, — with whom, as well as with the savages^ maoy 
things could take place contrary to the good of the house, 
without much scruple on the part of our Donn^, if thej 
were not retained by some extraordinary bond of consciencd- 
Ooe can easily perceive other advantages, which it would 
take me too long to enumerate/* 

I The Jf»u>i RehtitHftt vol. iij., p. 303. 



TRB NEW HOLT LBAOUE 



843 



In TOe Jesuit Relations evidence is supplied, proving 
ihsi these Donnas, or Domeaticd, were not all in tbe cUss 
of life which the latter term would aeem to imply to 
Engliah ear?, though no doubt many of them served in the 
hurabltst capacities. Thus Simon Baron and R^n^ GoupO 
are mentioned as Surgeons ; Qaspard Gotiant was an Apo- 
thecary ; Qaillaume Couture was not only an interpreter^ but 
an important political agent working from time to tinte 
amongst the Indian tribes. Other Donn^ were also employed 
on political errands, either by the Jesuita or the Gorernment- 
A9 late u 1701, nine Donn^a were in the serriee of the 
Quebec Jeauits, 

One of i;he most extensiTe auxiliaries of the Society of 
Jesua, m an organization known as *^The Holy Lea^e of 
the Sacred Heart of Jesus," called also "The Apostleship 
of Prayer/' A League for the purpose of offering? prayer 
seems, at first sight, a very innocent thing; but it is well 
to remember that first impressions are often mistaken. The 
Roman Catholic Dictionary says that this Association was 
"founded in 1844 by the Jesuits at Yak, in the Diocese of 
Puy." Ostensibly its chief object is that of devotion to the 
"Sacred Heart ^' of Jesua; but it has other objects of a 
more practical character. From the English edition of the 
official Hamihook of the Holy League we discover that '* The 
work of th e Apoatleshi p of Pray er ' ^ includes not only 
petitions for " the triumph of the Church (and) of the Holy 
See ** — we know what the J&suits mean by that ** triumph '* 
— but also practical operations. The members are required 
*' to take an active part in the welfare of the Church, to 
second the efforts of God^s Ministers, to promote the designs 
ircf God's providence and the rescue of soula. It presses 
tkern to devote themselves^ and with more fruit than is gained 
by any po li ti cian , to Oie regen eration o/" modern societ^^ 
which seems to be falling to pieces." ^ We thus learn that 



I UMw^ook &f ihi ffol^ !^pte of tkf Ht&ri c/Jetms. 2nd Kd„ tip 27. W. 



344 



TBI 7Iffl?ITS Iff fiESAT BHITAm 



the metnbers are ** pressed*' to take aa active part in the 
work usually undertaken by a ** politician " in the " regenera- 
tion of EDCMiem society;" which, m the case of the Jesuits 
may be expected to be on the hnes laid dawn by Father 
Robert Parsons, in hia notorious work on The Reformatum 
of England^ which, as we have seen, has been blessed by 
the Modem English Jesuits. ^ A large number of easily 
obtained Indulgences have been granted to the me libera of 
this *'Holy League" by Pius IX, and Leo XIII, ; tut one of 
the cottditiona of receiving tbem is that the members abali 
offer '* Prayers for the Pope's intentions'* — whttever they 
may be — and for '*the extinction of heresies."' 

In Ireland those who hold office in this or^ani2ation* aa 
'^ Promoters/' are expected to make a solemn promise to 
have nothing to do with Freemasonry, or secret societies, 
but to oppose them to the utmost of their power* The 
promise is made in the following terms: 

"Freemasonry, and all other secrel societies having been con< 
demoed by the Infallible voice nnd authority of the Vicar of 
Ghri«tt I, N. N., obedient to that authority, soiemi]]^ resolve aod 
3ni;age never to belong to &ny auch secret asaociationf under 
wlmlsOGver name it tnuy be called; but, on the conu-arv, to oppoaa 
to the uLmost of my power their influence, their t^cbing, and 
their acts. Amen." * 

This solemn promise is not printed in the English Hand- 
book of the League^ but it ia, notwithstanding, expected to 
be taken by every man and woman throughout the world, 
and in the case of '* Promoters," as *'a necesiary condition*' 
of being admitted to office in the League, of which "the 
Director General is the General of the Society of Jesus/* • 
In the Irish Hajtdbook of the League appears the following 
official notice on this point* *^ Our Reverend Directors, our 
Promotera and Associates, will understand the motirea which 
have prompted the Director General of the Holy League to 



I 

I 
i 

I 



i 



* Smpra, ^jp, 1&2— 15*. > Jbid.. p. lOS. 

1 The Jruk iimtdbook of iks Hoif Iroifut £nd Ed., p. 1\. 



Dublin. 1397 



TRB VEff HOLT LBJiaiTZ 



SiS 



mme the following inatnictians : In order the more thor- 
oughlj to enter into the intention of the Holy Father, 
e 1 p ressed i n the teach i ng of th e late Knc jclt ca] Le tte r, 
Humanum Getitts^ we earnestly beg of all our Directors, both 
Dioceaan ftnd Local, to require, in all new receptions of 
Associates of either sex to the Holy League, and in the 
case of our Promoters, as a nece^sar^ conditi&n^ the promise 
nexer to enter into any secret society^ and not to give 
encouragement; or help to any of them," ^ 

This Holy League, or "Apostleship of Prayer/' is not 
confined to congregations under the direct spiritual auper- 
risioQ of Jesuit priests*. No fewer than 22 Orders and 
Religious Institutions have }*iven to its members a ** parti- 
cipation in all thtiir merits, prayers, and ^ood work.^/* ' It 
seeks to push itself into all '* Religious Communities'' and 
ffCclesiastical Seminaries for the education of priests, and 
into ordinary secular Colleges and Schools. In this last 
connection the Engfinth Handbook mentions the existence of 
A mysterious organization called "The Militia of the Pope 
in Colleges and Schools/* as to which it would be desirable 
for the Protestant public to have further information than 
they at present possess. It seems that even persons outside 
the Church of Rome may be members of the League^ for, 
in the "Instructions for Local Directors,*' we read:— '* It 
may sound strange, but it ia true that even those who are 
not keeping the laws of the Church can often be sincerely 
affected by this truth, and practically accept it — never with- 
out being made the better— afuf ma7iy even when out of the 
Church hare been, if inconsistent, at least sincere members of 
the League^ and hare owed to their daily offering the grace 
which has at last brought them back to the practice of a 
Catholic life." ' 

If this **Holy League'" were but a small affair it would 

1 n^ frUk Handbook of ike Holy L*-a^^. 2nd EJ., p, £2. Duhlm, 1997. 
» /*W,, p. 108. 



346 



THE JS9CIT4 IF O&EAT BBITIHI 



I 



scarcely be worthy of notice; but it is not small. It is in 
reality the Inrgest orp^anisation ever formed within the fold 
of any professedly Christian Church. It is stated in its 
Irish Handbook that, in 1897, it number&d nearly 25,000,000 
of Associates J ' scattered throughout the whole world. How 
many of them live in Great Britain is more than I can t&LI. 
The {i^re3 are siruply amazing'! Just think of it for a 
moment. Twenty-five millions of men aiid women imder 
the direct influence of the Jesuit OrderH, the greatest enemy ■ 
of our ProtesUnt liberties to be found in the whole world! 
And yet there are atill people amonjifst us who affect to 
treat the Order as nninfluential, and of no consequence in 
these realms. Such persons are under a dsngeroua deluaton. 
Whenever the Jesuit Order may need to stir up civO com- 
motions and dissensions in the interests of the Papacy, and 
to the injury of Protestant Sovereigns and Governments, from 
the ranks of this ^^ Holy League ^^ it can at any time select suit- 
able instrumente. By the means of this League they easily 
know who their iustruments are, and where to £nd them when 
wanted. The '* Holy League '' of France in the sixteenth century^ 
began as a religious work, and ended in the cruel and blood- 
thirsty wars of religion, having for their object the eitenn- 
ination of the Huguenots. In this new **Holy League** may 
eventually be found the army the Jesuits will some day 
require to restore the Temporal Power of the Pope, which 
is one of the dearest objects they have at heart io tbe 
present time. **I have/' wrote the Rev. E. J. O'Reilly, S.J. 
Professor of Theology in Maynooth, in a posthumous work 
published in 1892, '"no hesitatioii in saying that a war 
directed to the re-establisbment of the Pontiff's temporal 
sovereignty, would be just, so far as the cause is concerned," * 
From a privately printed Catalogue of Books by the En^^lish 
Jesuits I learn that "the entire Collection of the Rescriptftr 
Decrees, and Apostolic Letters, in which are the utterances of 

1 fri#A SUfiHbttQit of Iki ilofy l^^^, |^ T. 

« TAe il^liitieM Qfik9 CAmreA to Sogi^ly. Bj Ednund J. O'KeiUx, ^-' i ^ ^^^ 



tH£ JIStJlT ORUEB INCURABLE 



847 



the Holy See reganiing the Holy League " has been printed, 
but that it is* **For the use of our Directors only/' What 
are they afraid of, 1 wonder, which prevents them offering 
this book to the public? With the history of the Jesuits 
before us it is impossible to suppose that they will not, 
from time to time, use this "Holy League** for political 
purposes. The English Jesuits have emphatically declared^ 
through their magaxinej Chtkolic Progress : — *' We cannot 
separate politics from religion, from Catholicity," * 

In concluding this record of Jesuit deception, trickery, 
aedition, treason, and crime in Great Britain, it is important 
to point out that the Order has never repented of its paat 
offences. What it has done in the past it would do to-day^ 
were circumstancea favourable. Knowing its past history, 
not only in the dominions over which King Edward Vll. 
reigns, but in every country in the world, we realise that, 
with its secret agencies spread abroad everywhere, with ita 
multitude of unknown and pledged adherents in every class 
of society, it is a standing danger to the Empire, What 
it has done for France it will do for the British Empire if 
only time is allowed it, and Protestants can be lulled to 
sleep in a delusive security. It would treat us as Delilah 
treated Samson of old, and with similar disastrous results. It is 
useless to expect the so-called '* Society of Jesus " to reform, 
A well-known English Jesuit, the Rev. Bernard Vaughan, 
is reported by the Catholic Times to have said in a lecture 
he recently delivered in Dublin, on "'The Jesuit in Fact 
and in Fiction,^* that:— "One thing was certain, and that 
was the [Jesuit] Society never had been, and never would 
be, reformed. It was its one proud boikst that if ii failed 
in anything it was in its individual members^ not in i ts 
organization^ in ita constitution, or in its corporate Itfe.^' 
In other word^, it is hopelessly incurable. 

^ C*(i&tue Pr&yrttit Tol. Till., p. 317. 



Tb« Erro. 












i^ 



INDEX 



AtMrcrombie, Father Robert, SJ. 188, 
184, 215; 
hifi nftrmtive of tliis secret re^ption 

or Anno of Denmark 205 — 307; 
appointed Keeper of theKing'sHawka, 
207. 
AbingtoD, Edward 22, 114, 122. 
Acton, Lord, oo Rome and Murder Plots 
80, 90. 
on the secret History of Charles IL 
243, 2&1. 
Admonition to the PeopU of England 

106— 111. 
Allen, Cardinal M, 44, 60, 96, 90, 97, 06, 
106, 131. 190; 
on questions put to Roman CatboUcaS; 
letteni to, from Mary Queen of Scots 

gJB 99, 

Alva, Duke of 113, note. 
Angus, Earl of 182, 183. 
Anne of Denmark 184; 
her early life 204; 
narrative of her secret reception into 

the Church of Rome 20&— 207; 
writes about her pwrersion to the 

Pope 208; 
further evidence of her Popery, 2001, 

210: 
uses her influence to put Papists Into 

public offices 210; 
rauses to partake of Communion in 

Westminster Abbey 211 ; 
opens up communications with the 

Pope 211 ; 
the Pope sends present to 211; 
endeavours to pervert bar eldest son 

212; 
her love for Spain 212, 213, 214; 
taught Popery by her lady-in- waiting 

213; 



seereUy attends Mass 213, 214; 
keeps two disguised priests to laj 

Mass for her 214; 
attends Protestant senrlces and ser> 

mcms 213; 
double-dealing on ber dying bed 215 — 

217; 
dies in the bosom of the Roman 
CathoHc Church 217. 
Annias, John 171. 

Apostleship of Prayer, The 343—347. 
Arden, Edward, and the plot to assasst* 

nate Eliiabeth 91. 92. 
Arlington, Lord (see also Bennet, Sir 

Henry) 263, 260, 270. 
Archer, Father James, SJ^ and the plot 
to aesasstnata KUzabeth 109, 170, 171, 
190. 
Amauldt AbbA, on the Jesuit Sodalities 

323. 
Arnold, John 146. 
Arundel, Charles 22. 
ArundoL, Lord Wardour 203, 2D0. 
Ashley, Ralph, SJ., 198. 
Assatwination PloU 22, 01—68, 90—92, 

113—125, 167—181. 
AssociaUon of Roman Catholic Gentlemen 
21. 22; 
and Plots to assassinate Eltubeth 32. 
Aubigny, Lord, (see also Lennox) princi- 
pal agent in a Great Jesuit Plot 30; 
the object of his mission to Scotp 

land 30, 31 : 
rapid promotion oC 32 ; 
Joins the Presbyterian Kirk 31; 
created Earl of L<eaaox 32; 
his plans revealed by Queen Elisa- 
beth 34, 35; 
proclaimed Duke ot Lennox 38. 



B 



Bablngton, Antony 22. 

his plot to asaassinate Eliiabeth 

113—125; 
names of his fellow Cons{Urators 114; 
pleads guilty 121, 122. 
Babington Conspirators, Father John 
Gerard SJ., on the 113; 



Father Robert Parsons, S J., on the 124 ; 

Father WilliamWestoo, S J^on thel24. 

^gshaw, Dr. Cliristopher.and the Jesuits 

1TO, 180, 306. 
Balcanquall, Walter, his sermon on Dis- 
guised Romanists 33; 
approved by the General Assembly 34. 



350 



CKDEX 



B&ll«nl, Jobs 114, 11^ 12t. 
BartiwQiU Robert H4, iffl. 

told by * JMult Uia «&u** wu * good " 
196; 

Iff7. 
BtllUBV, J«rOtti« 1i4. 
Belling* Sir Rielt&f>l 3S6; 

wnt bj Ch*rlaa IL o& it aA&rat Hinton 

to tbc Pops 34d. 243; 
preaenta to the Pom Cli*rlw' Pr9- 
r««l<n of Fftith Ma. 
BsDOvt, SlT flennr (He kIso Aflitufon 

Loray 333, laa, 1*9, V70, 

Piinoafi' dliloy&lty 61, 
BlukbMth, Popisb Army U aW; 

EveJyo on Uta 2i90> 
Blind Obodicnco gf Uic JsiiilU aafV^ZOl}, 
336; 
jtutia«« crime, ivrstiny. mlA t^\y 
308, 209. 
BluusU Father Rlch&ni, i^J. 21&. 
boera^ Ffttlwr^ fij., bia paTntkhlei on tke 

■Acnl Hlfllorr of Cl^rlM U 'M. 
Bolbot, Ho«er, SJ. 3. 



InLfl ihft JHitkt Ordar MO— MS. 
Brfedr, W, M^ «n "^Tlia £|ilsrt Son of 

Brvda, how Ch*rte» IL deeelvad lll» 

Bristolf £iji of 23% 233; 

attack on tb« £iu-l of Ctareadod bjr 

348— S50. 
5ri«rour'« Molitte* 3&, 28; 

0xtr«cta from ai& 
Brodciick. Sir AlifD 2, 27. 
finioe, Robert, Mut t^ ask Tor » Spaatafa 
Arroy 127. 128; 
vUit of, tat b? Duke of P&rma iMi, tM ; 
on UwtfiAlay^lwDrlE of UwJcKUibiltt. 
Barghley. Lopf, hi« inwrriew with Uie 
Jstuit WoHlhouH k; 

Burn«t, Biibop, bin jkvoudI uf ti*« wscre*. 
Tneepcion of I'liailM IL loto the C'btxft^ 

an ttiA wicked eljamcKr of HtwlOftlM 

371. 
Butlsr. Mr. Chartoa, on qunlloaa [lut lo 
Roman CalboUei S^ % 



CtMM Buffh, HUploytd td 

Kitubeih tea, I'm, m, lu. 

Otithncwi. Karl of M. 
^{#n4^r o^ Cttr*w Pap**™ 16. 
Campian, KJ«&rti, SJ. l"?, 19, 32; 

faia untnitbfuL iLB«Artidii 22; 

tnt«rTiew wiifa Quoon fE)i^b«Ui ftS; 

ila torturad 34; 

quefrlionad aa to hi* lovtJty SSf 

a M^rljr to tlw Dapoai^ Power S9. 
Carter, William, exoclitied tor prlnUoK 

Uaiteroiu bcuka IM— OCL 
CMMao« BJakop of (Dr. Uwks) lUi 
Cm Jemalzftft, Lady Z30. 
Cateaby, Robert Gfinpowdflr Plot Con* 

■pintor, bis ploua ebaractiif im. 
Otuerlne at Utngfiowttt marf^fi Lo Char- 
kii II 241. Wix 

ProvincLal at Ibe JaaaltBc^agntuJalaa 

{iarlk:ipaie« ui ttae dhsHU of Jeaait 

ordar 2U. 
CedL Vmih^T John 18\ 1B&, »B. 
Charles 11^ Iho Secrtt Hislury of,«ta— 350; 
•Hida Mr. Robert MoynclL cm a mis* 

akM la Iba Popo t£19. 22U ; 
iMpiAiatloiu or, with th« Praaby' 

tariana of ScoOnnd 290; 
aendi Lord Cottiugitcin and Sir Edward 

Hyde un a mufiioD to Spain £20;, 
Iji^them (VDalv aadHDaaoexait Agi^DU 

oi at Homti'SM, •£&; 
prQba4iluJifl of, td Innocent X» 33S^^ 

deioj-minw to diaHinblfl wiUi the 

Scotch aai, 3Ui 
airoara to tba Solama League and 

C^VQnaDt S4; 



hti lnt«rri4wa with FiUicr Joiba 

RllddlMton X&; 
frapfii to the CoDUBcnt, where ha 

aAia n^etlataa witb tb* Pop* 

Blaliop Bumet^ri aecaunt wf biaaaerat 

Father Peter Taibov B>Jh i«Til«* 
hlu to become secretly a BodMAilt 
336^338; 

Dr. Renebaa*! aDcouat of hi* eeenC 
reeeution lotu ttie Churcb of RoiMt 

Oka Duke of Dmnnd aeea dnrtea aa 

hit \Q^tm at Maaa 23S; 
Carte'i ftccouot ot ibe »«crel iveep- 

UOD of 2^, 233; 
Lent Ualifoi qd tbe perranioa of 

Sa^ 334; 
bit Secret Trmty with Spatn Sfe, »; 
ProtHtant Minlalen LeitUfy to the Pro* 

t^tanUini of 337— ^W ; 
aUoDtf proPoaaiens oT Pret^af aJiam 

taf 33a, SSlBi, aU>— "aibs ftU; 
nuKMon tUMKAntog the Popeay ol 



bow tba Dlteeatiag MioieliBra wh* 

deluded by 290, 9W; 
marrlea aeeretly a Rotoac Cathodk 

PrJueeaa SM; 
seada Sir Richard Belling oo a aeerft 

^isaiooi td tha Pepe S&^ 
aev«iit<«ii Fari^ara irtet«ml oa th* 

Cbui«h of RoiH by aU, StS^ 
aaaiste at Maea aad bowa at tte 

elevatloa 3U; 
propoaaa tba Bphmta^nfi of bla ILloll'- 

duma to Ibe Cborcb at Roow SU] 



J 



JNDfiX 



351 



HHid« to Ihfl Pope h\n Profeavion of 

F&LLh 243^ 
th« BAcret CVaUidHc Junto of ^U; 
propofK)« *c>me toleratlun lo Homnn 

CfttboLica 3M-^^M; 
Act forbidding nnyane Iq lerm tbe 

King ft PnpljiC 24&, S40; 
and tbe JusulU 2M— 377; 
hiA secret coirespon donee vith Uie 

OenanU of the Jesuits 252—362; 
wrltMMecretLy teethe P>i^te ja2:2:J>,'i^\ 
loon For the Sftcrainunta urtbuCburcb 

oF Rome 255 ; 
wiabM to Mcfotl^ pnuUw the rltw 

of thft Roman Catbohe roLiftlon 2&&; 
the "grcBteat aecreey" deadred by 

has "^a taeret undnntAiidtng frith LJhe 

Pop«f* 256; 
wtcbw hU ion 4rdA^ne<t) ut&Kaman 

nritiit, tft giv« him ttaeretljr the 

Mftcmmente 257, 262; 
doH Df>t ivi*b to wlthdmw bi» von 

from the J«uK Ordw 257, SaO; 
hia affseUon aod RoodwHl io tho 

Jflflttlt Order afifi, SffiO; 
relter of, to hie Jesoit nan S&H— 260; 
OKpecUi to Aid the Jeiuitti with hlti 

Ravnl iiiunineafl« 259; 
afraid of death Jf hh Pqiwrx >* 

f DOBd ont Wi ; 
Ua ''iaoaiiuroa of dlwinmlatiaTi" %1 ; 
Ua Secret Conroronoe at Vorfc Houae 

aeeka advlco how to eatAljUnh Popery 

In hla domlDioiu 2B3, 'iet; 
ackDDWledg^ hltnseira Romiui Catbr>- 

Uc 364; 
bia B^crel iiiterviowa wjtb the FrpT>cL 

AmtjaflBiadoT' 264, 2Ga; 
boaita ihtLi his army will help bit 

plana 254. 30^; 

Ihla Secret Tr^atr of Dover 2fi5— 207: 
deelaratlnn at liuiatgtmt:^ by 367, %B; 
places A PopUh Army nt Blach- 
hCAth 209; 
Crrpto-C*thoHc4 la the Court of24"3, 
9», 1H70; 
and Uw Poplvh Plat 270—^73; 
ends hii aklaerablelife of deeeptioD 377, 
Cbamock, John llA, 1^ 
Cfaau* Father La CIhwa, SJ. S7&, 307. 
ChJtdren of Uary, bc St^afiiiea. 
'Cboioe of Eogtaod, The" 12^). 
CUmuioti, Earl of, aw uJkj H]fde^ Sir 
EduHird Itas^ 
attack upau bT Ui« Earl of Bristoi, 
I aw— 250; 

pMa to prerent the Popery of Cbar- 
I tei H. bflcoming known 348, ^40 ; 

^_^ Ml4 «0 ba ■ niend t» PrDlMi*Dt]im,350. 

^^Bi3& Mh tHUflea to the PratoatwiUaia 
of Charlee U- ^Ol, 33B. 
Danlell, John 1Q&, tlO, 171, 174, IWI. 
DaTllU 90 Jesuit aold«U(i!» ^Oi. 
Dq ntu, Cvdinai aas, 377. 



CUrke, Father K. F'^ gJ^ uu l^anona* 

))l*s for tbo RcformaUoB of Engtaad, 
ISA. ISO. 
aifford, Lord ftG3, 203. 
Cloche, James de ta^ illagftjfqate wn of 
Ctiarles II. 2^2; 

racaivDd into tb« JmuU Order 3S2; 
hii father^a corroHpORdence with the 

Cfimara] of the Jeauiu *£iZ—^/Sii 
tetti-r to, from Cbarteft ]L 2Sa— 260. 
Colbert t'nuich Ambusadoi to Kafaland 
S75; 
lili iBcret, Interriowii witb Chiirl&s II. 
304, a6&. 
Coleman^ Edward, bU renl Popjab Plot 
274—^3; 

treaaonnble Lettflrs of 274. 37^ 
Coligoy, Arlrairal, murder of 31. 
Collfln^ Patrick, hii^ plot to aatasrinate 

EliMbeth, ieM-^174, ITS, tm 
ColTille, Mr. Juhn, 7S. 
ConfETtnne about thf NtLft ^un-eatiim to 

Coaf4«^anAt, The, uB&d for poUU*"ftl pwi- 

poaae, m 
Coagrtgattonff of the Jeaiilta («e Svdtfl- 

ConaUtutioiu of the Jesuit Order, 2M, 



adnpled bYFemfiloCon'reataK&'-^aB. 
CooT«i»l« and MupoiU^rioa, Dcprarity of 

nz, SBO, sun, 

CoaTBfiUon Parliament, Cliarlea H/a Pr»- 

taalADt letter Um trie 240. 
Corao^ Cardttial of, Hi, 04, 67, d»i 

letter to, rav0aUag plot U»u>a4«in«te 

miubeth 63; 
hiB rtjpjy 65, 
Cornwaltia, Sir Chariot, on the rhararlpr 
of Father Richard Wa)pok. SJ. IMI; 
CD the Spaoiah lympatiileA of Adoq 
nf Doamark ftii SU. 
ColUDgtoo, Lord 221 ; 

aent by Charles II. ou & mLiaion to 

CoTefitry, H. 247. 
Crawford, Earl at 141, -143. 
Creightoo, Father William, SJ. m, 47. 4S^ 
49, Stt, 14i, 144, 14S, Ofi, a07, aUB; 
aent by tbo Pupe on » miaAloa to 

Scotland 49; 
bifl report of hia nlaaioti 44; 
captared 100; 
bla confeMioEu 101—102: 
bta treaaoD tu Scotland t83 — 1M. 
CreewelK Father J >«epli, SJ. a trwWr 4o 

hia couTit.17 Irtf*. 
Crypti><aihuliei* in tfa« CouLftofC 

n. 347, 2e«, 27W, 
Cryplo-JaaulU 3Q9--»ia, 
Cttrrer. Fatber SJ. Itr?. 



D 



tlectaraUon of Indulf^afie by Cbarin n. 

297,308. 
l>tgbr, Sir BT«mrd, Guarr^wder Cvaapi- 

rfttor, KlvM **wboUy to Gwl't avrvice' 

tsa. 



^^^^^^^^^^^^H 


352 j| 




[N]«ttl-M. JMDU IL 3L 0-« 129. 


I>r««. FaUbsr, SJ. tm th« death of Ahm ■ 
of Da&m&rk 217. ■ 


eS; 2ftk-M7; 


DrDTni&ond, Hra^ tMCfaM Popnry to Aam 


Wftlt^r BakanquaU'i wnzKiM on 33; 


of Denmark 213. 




Diflloyml rtoth* £i&. 


DtiDbUtin, Btfthop oC lOtv lUv U5. 


Rowtah BarQLniui«B 37, 


Duaf^nslinA, E&ri or.oonSettMAlextfw^. 


Dover^ •ncret treaty ftC, 305*-*^; 


Duoo*. Henry It*. ia 


LoH John Ru»«n t>a tlw 9M. 


DretincoarU I*w«tor^ tiMtlOc* to tb« Pro- 


Quoeu Kli»botb ofe S%, ^ 


te*lAaU»m of Cluu-tn 11. &&. 




1 


Estlflton, Bftrt of U, 


PtipAl CUUmt to Um T^ahw of Itft- 1 


Efflfimffl, RaJpti IT. 


1R nat«« 177; ■ 


EltiM»lh, Qoeen, KidolpM'i pint to MMt- 


Ums JmuIW plan for tbe ftcfajmatioa ■ 
of IfiS-ia^ ■ 


■iMte &{ 


on Diaettt««d TlomoQlttA 34. 3&; 


BquivcM^alion and Mufilal R«(i«r«aUaa ■ 
lOfr-lCfi, lOl. 107. 2»«t ■ 


bloU to wi*sMnftt« Cia— (IK, flO— 02, 


113-125. Hj7"1t!kl ; 


Itoh^rl rars.ii)s SX ott 101—103; ■ 


b«r uuutlermacUoaNl by SU'iuftV, eO: 


J^aliH-r Henry G*rni.tl,SJ.on no— I6fti ■ 


S«msrvUi«*« Aiui Arden's plat to 


F»ih«?T John WorrtK, SJ. on 100 j ■ 


*«tk«i4fiate 90—92; 


Kmmiwod S^ <« 1t»; ■ 


prm4»«d by Pupe Siitua V. Ill : 
BabVitfrUin'ti plot to uwuainftte, 


th« Cttthottc Dtrtwnttry on 16G. ^^^| 


EtTog, l<jtrl ^.r 1«1, iV2, iVl, iiSX 1M. ^^H 


* 13-1 25 ; 


Elv^clyii, Jttbn^ vltiiU 1ii« Pupiftb A^iuy «t ^^^H 


Bull ofSisiua V. deposing IWMJB; 


Blftckhuiitb W»i ^^M 


F^trick Cotln^d plot tvi MaMilHtA 


on the tt it! k ej chanie4«r «l Tltiw OttiM ^1 


i€»— nk 


lt71, 2r^ ■ 


EuUiuU k:ii)«dllion asalnit, ounrly 


ETidooca of SpiBB, nhw of Ibe 07. ^^^^H 


] 


1 


Kftwki^ (OLisr). Gucipowdef Plotter, a 


rvriTedaithelnstltutotiftfaeBlatfid H 


"mui of GrcKt Piety** 1V2. 


Vinno 3^4. ■ 


rnmAlfl Jeauim Tbe »S»-^8; 


remihnrst, B&ran 4rl> ■ 


petition mfTninsUrroraRnnj&fiCAUioUc 


Mttfftfald, Coloi»e\ opfvT-i'^'< r.-nfrmi of ■ 

ft Punish Anny nt Ii3 < 'J ■ 

ritjb«rbet, Thum&a, SJ .^u lo ■ 


prlaau 3S1— 33S : 


wppiMHd br UrbUL VIU 3» i 




uttuiomte lOitfbotb 1 'P-i /u> I7ft ■ 


C 


1 


Trrr. H. Raymotid. tosUOet l4 Ui« 


hit iDt0rri«w villi Oia Ihrae Otam ■ 


ProtMlknbin) of Ctwrloa IL 230, 


m ■ 


OftgB, Robet't 114, ilX. 


0«kMB, Father Biepboa, SJ. Hkj extn- ■ 


OamotC raUier Henry, 5J. on Eqiiivocft^ 
U«L &nd MeolaJ li»arTAtldit 163— 46a, 


ordinarr djifruim S^ 


QeraM. HkllhAur 10&. 


lao, 216t 


aetvd, Ffttbt^r John. tsJ. on ll»e BiMi^ 


on (jIoUi to aagauM[ut6 EUuboUi 


toft CotwPirKTv 123; 


ITS; 


Q\tft>r^ Gilbert 11^ 131. 1^; 


gcU T»]tt*ble Information for tii* 


bent U> Pans br Man- Qu«ea] of 


KmfE of Spain 187, ii«; 


^eots 117. 


UKl bt* kDowl«dM of tbe Guopowaer 


OilToiM. Dr W, HI tbo aoewi rM«pti«« 


PloHflC. 190— a03; 


af Aiuic (»f DonmikFk tOb. 


bit CoDfoHluiw of gulU |@»--a)S; 


GU^ji^'ow, Ai-eLljtHhup of SO. e&t 67, 7T* 


h\n kmiwlodfffl of ibo GrtticKiw4er 


Gf.r.loQ, Pntbcr Jaftvt^ SJ. 1S1» l«6. 181 


l>lut 19IH- 2D3; 


G*>i-aois S.r Patrir.k iBi 


bi> ]«tter to Hn. Vaujc 902} 


Graciu^ t-'bttwr Baltbuar, ^J. SOL 



DffDBX 



35S 



O'mten of nntnr i%^ 

Or&rtij SMrol ctf /enilt inHunnrf^ TtiatlL 

Urmat, ivhn, Gunpovrdor CcmepiMCaE^ a 

Qnst auQD M. 

Gngory XUt mode ■cqpmittta!! wftb lAot 
^ MfiUalaabe lambatb m— CSq 
lAiinnd lo be SornVigii Laid of 

IQU loa, lOft. 137, ^; 



hw pU« to AMaMinate Klii^botii 

ottan hop bs Ju!»e« yl 18^ 1&; 
letttm or JuDM TL to Uie 11, 7^ 

auBpcnPilar Flotf FaOMr i^uionB biiiihi 

iwDit TMttnMHty tD tin p4ow dwr- 

MiR (tf tb« CoMpifstonidl— 10l± 

iMjAod by tfa& ciiifiinl «UldfaD or 



Hfllttut, Leid, DB Cbulm H tts Homui 



Bavry, Mi ttn Popiob Plot TTS. 
Hamiltan, Lonl CIiuhIc 127. 
Hay, ^^ar Edmaad, SJ, 142, !«. 
KftyoA, Fattier AlcxaiKJcr, SJ, 3S. 



ab^fV; 



twfore narriaee ftlfi, 



Holt, Pitlwr WilUiuD, SX 41, IS; 
interflow wtth Mendii^n 43; 



ani phM to MMMlatle Qnott Di* 

B^Ktit ie»— 11&, 19a 

Hydo, Sir EdvAnt, («m sIm Ctarendon 
Earl of) m. »; 
0ont by Ctaa/im H. oa • iRlMios to 

Hot; Leo^iH. The 4CM, SSL 34& 

H«l; Loasne of fha flacrstl Beul of Janu 

343--3¥7. 

wKb Chnrlea II. '33b, 
lluaUy, Earl of H, 137. IIO, l«L 183, 
l«3v ttMi 
Wuu of hlft Dfa^mulatioa ItS. 



kijmllf ia 



ffivUtaiA «r tKe IWmpiI Vlf«iii Hht 
S34— »7; 
l« pr^GUcaUy «a Opder of flHBAtfr 

ui|}UMefror«tUK: prc0DiittliD«93a,3aa 



Jaeqnaft, Fi«iid» ifflL iTQi, ITS* 

Mm»m VL of B»tl»d SD, »1, l^ 130^ 14D; 






witb rifttttor 



cor yu pt ei l by dqiuaa 

Siavturt SUM] LcnflDX &i ; 
ptoclMDnUoD in dofotMX of Lemua'i 

IVrtwrtantftm S4; 
tad the Baia of Bvlfawn £&; 
aiipittieiktigii to, o( FiptMtwit NoUo- 

fDOa SO, Sa; 
IIm Duke of GaiM offoH Aid to 73^ 
hb ]0tttfB to the Duke <tf etiiw 'n, 74 ; 
MKAiUlovw letter oft to ib* IHiye ^ ; 
obtAtoB penciiMf — W»ftO» tNoGgh 

hi* iHiBJiMibHinni 19>; 



l€B,lfi«. 

of PMHBtf' t»^M0L 



Jendtii nod tlia ^woititi AnDftdo 9}*nBl 

tbeir tows 3H, Md 
JenJt Plot IB Scotkodn, Orau Kh-CO* 
Jenlt ixvd cn«nct^kr of Scotland 

JsMltt duloyaUj 10— la. 

Jecsit Older, V^imaUQii of ilMi ¥>«— »; 

Am mmbora of tbe 384, 9Ki 

UftiKtaj of llkfl SM; 

«pproived by Pan! HL M; 

consattiliaM cf the 2QI, W-306; 

md tU TMn fflB— aOO; 

Afld BJifxl OhHttenM laft-O^ 

th« pKAwnl V*Xltw Of tba Xn; 

th9 S«en.-r or the SM. 304,300-»l3t 

si»d poMCIw aol, SD&; 

leapemuyty oC fer Um wiHbi«i oT 
ila aiMib«r« aaft--m; 

a <M» of <tlaiiiiMkl ftas tt* S09t 

tbft BodaUtiw and Oo^t«0iI1«bb of 
th* 914^-39; 340; 

tin Orawl a«ero( gf Uw 3Mi 



8S4 



DTDEX 



thai, CMkAAt l>« raformod, sjid there* 
f«ni faetumble &47. 
J«RilI«. The, Boffifui OtlboUc tmUmonf 

ael of if» tt^iaat i&», 104; 
th«ir Spiritual ChildivD 'JO, HA; 

Uio eflorU of^ to aafikroMdbjacUoaaLlc 
books ISOi 



thoir Ki iur-Kmio« Prttctle«« dcic Kbeil 

and Oiaria U. «<— gn: 

and FeniBte Conrefttfl 33B — 3S8; 

Utemiy Mrrante of ^(3a, SSUk 

/tFuity Memorial for th^ Refomutf-icm 
of Bn^iand, l^traelfl fr«m tS9— iSt 

J<]tuM« ]vdw»rd 114. 

JmUth and Rolofcmaa, hcJd up for Ibc 
■dsimU<Hi of PapisU M, K< 170. 



KfllllH^ Dr. 9Qa 

Kerr, Owirgs, &nd tiie Spaaiab Blanks 

Keys, Robert, GunpowdAr Co&spll»loi', a 

man of gnat "^rtu«" 19Sr 
Kirby, Luio 17* 



to aR^f^sttintc Ellmbelh 07, CB. 
IkkE^ KltUn^ uid the JwllslQii 19G^ tW. 
Kti^ FfttliBr ThDmu, SJ* X; 



LoAkA, Ttefl^ 147. 

League beturaen thp Pop», thfi King of 

finain, ii»d the Dtike of Tyscany lEs 

1C, 114, note, 

Letmol, Dwke of W^ 50, 52. 54-^, IM; 

(■ee *1bo Au^iffnvX hte prafeiif4oD 

of Protutantiflai SB; 
■WLjar* Id tlifi &)1«ibb Loa^uB And 

CknmuHit &6; 
j^oiulo oci the perwiUkl cfaaiw^M' of 

Mary Queeo of Scots ap|)rov<ra of bi« 

dtsjcimulatiOQ 43; 
thti Jeaqit CroigbtflO H »etrei iatoc- 

vie Wit iviCll M; 
Ma plot apprond taf the Ptipe 46; 
Us letter lo T^mIb 47; 
hi4 Iviter to Mvr Qaoea af Sculj 48; 
eomiptff the Mows of Jamea Vi, M ; 
Jamea Vl. defeods the Proteatuitjaiu 

of tbe M: 
UiMngPnitoBeiDii of PrcitoaCantiftQ) 55; 
■6eln hidp from ih« PaplHta £6: 
leara Sc<itjatid 57; 
boaa^ of tu« Prot^lantism W Quaea 

EHinboth &7; 
bouta of hia PopBty to ll«uloia> 

57, Wi 



dlat a« a Rfixnnn Cathcdtc 59; 

l«B«oiu frou tiic ure of tbA sek 30. 

Leo X DL hoaODn Goo powder Flotten ISEL 

Ltst of Favonn and Beneflta to ^3b» 

Chnttb of ftomp hy ChaHes H. »t— S4& 

Uteran* 8«rfvit« of l^ J^mvit Oidec 

338, Za». 
Litt]«tcia,KaiDp)in7yihi8lecU(a«nyagaioift 

the J^^ULt Dldcdn» t97, IKL 
Lopet, Dr. 174. 

Uniin XI>% 2113, 264^ 2TU 274, SHS, SU; 

targ« aooon of money Ksmnted to 

QiarlOi n. by SSb, a». 

Layoia, Ignatiti^ lua liait ta LondoD 1 ; 

founder <>f tib« Jeaait OrAer, Th« 

oai-ly oLf««r of ^7^-~Wi; 
boglGs to wh te Ms S|(«Hntai i:«ercia«f 

SBO; 
be Tirita Jemwkm 'Mil 
tmprlHoaad by tha luqBialttoa W 

the Brat dJaeipleB of ffii, ^ft; 
and the Paris Prol£«t«Ata flBDi 
electHl Goaerad KH; 
dfawB tie tbe CutiBtHqtioos of tbe 

Jwutt Ofi3«r fifit; 
on Blind Ofa«(li«Bi» 996— am 



Ulacaqlay, Lcrd, oo tho PAptvb Plot, 

■1-% 
M*Crnii Dt^ ga tbe cJiEtraeter of liie Duke 

of Leiinoix t/i, 
Macjguhlrric, t'ntlier, SJ. 9DEs 206; 

Lis Memariai ud the State 4f Sootland 

Maitlnnd, hor4 CtiAnc«llar, Plot to ] 
OMAa 144—146 ; 



the Popi asthafiasa th« attampt ta 
aiwawilnato 146. 
MfllvaaA^ UoiuitpfiOT, bJ4 npOft «f J«nilt 



10. 



Martyn to lb« Depo<la« P«iver 4; 
Mu7 Queen of Sooto i(\ 3I« 40, J 

4& CO, as, 7&, 101, Its, 100^ 110, ia&; 



her tottcin to MaiMl<jB. «« tli« B»- 
Uogtoa CooBplracy 117, 190; 



IHDU 



355 



her letter to B»biogton 190* 121. 
J«suit opinion od iho result of ber 

death 13a 
her pftrt Id the JesuiU* Plot 43, 47. 48 ; 
approves a plot to assassinate Elixa- 

beth 63; 
applies to the Pope for an extra- 
ordinary dispensation 71, 72; 
ber letters to Dr. Allen, fti, 90 ; 
her shocking lies 99; 
acquainted with the BabingtonConspt- 
racy 116» 117, 
MathioQ, Father Claude, SJ. 44, 68, 103, 190. 
Mayeanc, Duke of, bis plan to assassinate 

Elizabeth 63. 
Memorial against the Jesuits 13. 
Mendham, Rev. Joseph, his edition of the 
Admonition to the People of En^gland 
108. 
Mcndoia, Spanish Ambassador 7S, 115— 
120, 141, 322; 
hia secret conferences with Eag^h 

Roman CathoUcs 39, ll&-^30; 
his iotenriew with Lennox's secretarr 

&7, 58; _ 

helps the plots to assassinate Ettta- 
bethllS. 



Mental R aa ot t a tion and EqulTOcation 
leO-MOa, 196, 197, 216 ; 
Father John Morris, SJ. on 160; 
Father Robert Parsons, SJ. on 161— 

163; 
Father Henry Oamett, SJ. on 163 — 

166; 
Eramtinuel Sa on 108; 
the CathoUe IHetkmary on 166. 
MeyneU, Robert 221 ; 

sent by Charles II. on a mission to 
the Pope 319, 2». 
MichelaonJDr.onJesuitSodaU ties 324 — 387. 
Militia of the Pope, The 34& 
Monday, WlUiam, and the attempt to 

poison Elisabeth 178, 179. 
Morgan, Thomas 125, 126. 
MonticucuU, Count Alfonso 30& 
Mordaunt. Lord, on rumours aa to Popery 

of Charies II. 236. 
Morton, Dr. Nicholas 17. 
Morton, Earl of, m; 
arrest of the 35; 

efllects of the execution of the 88. 
** Murder is batter than Toleration** 80. 
Mush, Father John, on the disloyal 
machinations of the Jesuit Parsons ^ 



Oatos, Tttos 274, 276 ; 

and the Popish Plot 270—278: 
Bishop Burnet on the wicked char- 
acter of 271 ; 
John Gvelrn on the wicked character 

of 271, '^72; 
Ranko on 272. 
O'Daly, Father Daniel, a secret agent of 
Charles II at Rome .£21, 222, 223, 230. 
OfTilry, Baron 41. 

Oldcome, father Edward, S J. tells Hum- 
phrey Littleton thatthoChinpowderPlot 
was ^ commendable and good" 197, 198 ; 
and a proposed attack on the Tower 

of London 198, 190: 
raised to tbe ranksof tne ** Venerable ** 
199. 



OliTer, Rev. I>r. 2; 

a Literary Servant of the Jesuit 
Order 33», JO^ 
Orleans, Dncbess <iC 257, 261 : 

and the Socrot Treaty of Dover 267. 
Onnond, Duke of 231, 233; 

seesCharles U. on his knees atMoiis 232; 
Secret Treaty with Spain signed by 

234; 
ploU tn prevent tbe Poperr of Char- 
les II. t>ecouiing known 248. 
Orrery, Lord 265. 
Oraini, Cardinal, secretly received into 

the Jesuit Oi-der 310. 
Owrn, Nicholas, SJ. 190. 
Owco, Hugh lti.>, lU), 17U, ITJ, 17i, lUO. 



Paget, Charles, a secret emlMary to the 
English Romanists 70^ 71 ; 
on the King-Killing Practices of tbe 
Jesuits, 180, 190. 
Papal Ptaa of the Campaign 15—17. 
Parkman on Jesuit SodiaUUea 329. 
Parma, Duke of 140, 141 ; 

leader of the English Enteipiise 104; 
Motley's character of tbe 196 ; 
visited by the Jesuit Parsons 106. 
Pa^son^ Robert, SJ. 46, 48, 50, 68, 60, 97, 
98, 106, 106, 107, 111, 131, 184, 18&, 189, 
190, 300— 308, 3U; 
arrive* at Dover 2; 



his disguise 2; 

his Faculties aa to tbe Depodng BttS 

of Pius V. 17; 
Father Tiemey on their disloyalc^r- 

acttf 18; 
Mr. Ptoows renarks oa these Fa^ 

catties 18, 10; 
his Instmctiotts from tbe Oeneral of 

the JesoiU 19, 23; 
his conduct at the Sovthwaik Synod 

10; 
on Equivocation 20^ 101—163; 
sows the seeds of the Oonpowder 

Plot ao; 



356 



iBterrtvw wtiH TvmA* 40; 

nclbftf* ScfUuttoa «»d Miwb « Ibe 

bekh 6a.l6Bi 
nlilmiK inoan btflp Iwr jMbM VI. TV; 
wrttn Uw AJmamhum t» the PieofOe 

of Snakmd iOO, tOT i 

Mf IsttM- on Ifafl nWMJ i i** ! lo llae 
b TbfOM OS; 
Fonl0B SvufUf? Cd legal 



vrtla "Pnuciiwl }'a4nl« lo WrlUbite 

rsflQLUcr L^p JfVHil Sod.ititic* 3EL 
FW 1¥. fbmvtcEH tJ7 fk*|M«v Warr Quoen 
of Biitiaad 1-I3k not*, 
dftlttcd Ihc JCine oT Kti«hwd m kla 
VmnJ ill, mH€^ 
PM-cf , TIkudba, GiufMnHkr OgnaplrBlor, 

hi* plou cbaisctor fVSL 
Fow, ABllMwy ITS. 

Pirtn, ratter* SJ. 307. 



muup 11. 



L*tii141l«tn; 
scad* bcap to tbe EfioUish Uailon in , 



!■ praouml 



far Uw gfubli 

tiw eUn tci Itie TbroiM of EacUatf 

fSH; 
seiMtft * wcnod Smcikib Ar—ito 1a 

■ lOT. 



Piety, mood acHl M unkrr ttS. 
PittB V. Fope, bitt DefluBlI^^ &ull 1A^ 11. 
ja. 70, t», JC»; 
imffln iiKiiil«m« to UmbUu 6Bi 
mactitma Hw y t vfiu mi d Murdar «f 
Elixabpth 8& 
Pton of CuDpaign rafisod 61— TO.IOD^HOL 
role, Canldua U% no<e; 

Ei^lBZhd 1. 
Polvh^ WLUtaw im^ -HH t^ 

Jutm krelrn no ITH, 271; 
Raolia otn S7S; 
MKAttUy tm tnS\ 

Prima Primarin £* (mw SadnJirMa) 
I^ijeoatbooB of Cbarie» II. U> lutioeuiii 3 
flB,89. 



217. 
(}uoeii Anne «f Dsmoorlti aeo AfMM «f 



QooM CailMflna of Bra^Miait no nifltf 



HarMs 9oe Hemritttm 



Qoccn [Icbricitta 

Jtfarin. 
QuoaUaos, Tfac. pat to Roi 
la Bbc»b6lti*a retsn 6; 
CaidinAl Allen tm 6 ; 
Mr. Ctuirli<a BuLler m 9; 
^ir Jobo TbxocLmorUm cm 9t 



9 Catbolka 




RankCL Le»fild vdas«ik tii« Poplafa PLaim. 

ttaoetaB, Dr^ hi« nccoiukl «f Um «e(79t 
ncepUoQ off Cjaades XL Inba tbe CSMUcb 
of Koiua Z3Q. 

JIittNc' im«o a Qertaimt TMtM kiMg aef 
foorth by #ta. Ponofw U 

BHtatMem, FMfaer, bto vMt toSi^laBd 1 . 

BlddphL talB plal to MBBartnate Queeij 

Ftaff <oKi Growth of {A« Angtfivifj ScA^dnr» 

la 

KWhtoa, tklw&Rl 17. 



Ikidri^aei, Alottto, SJ. Aod tbc^ FoUt cf 

Blind Ot«li«fico 296. 
Ru6, Fatlfrer, a wv^rct Afjnnt of C'bariM 

IJ. al Komc £^. 222, 
Rolls, Rlobwd 178, fISl 
Bwns «ad Murder Ftota ISO^ 9Qk 
Kaima» FWlwr PSter, SJ. aaa. W^ S& 
Rookerood, Anbroap* Gunpowder Can- 

(^iralor, a awo "'irf great Tirtoe" 1\B. 
Ruaael], Lord Ioh% (m Uia aecrol Traatf 

of tViVBT 2j6» aB7, 
HttUivea, lu^d oT as, 56k b7, 7& 



8 



at Bartholopiew Mw— mr* 91. 

Saint Klmon, Dvk« of, on Josoit Sodallti«a 

Siawl>ur>. Tbonus 114. 



SimgB, John IH, 140, 19^ 1M, 
Soai^nMlli, VencUaaaMBMBgrfen] , 
on Iba aecrvt Popenr «f i^s» of 1 

mmrk Wi. 



IffDBl 



3S7 



dlBguJfled Jwolto Id SCi-^ laH; 
J««ult Itonianal tm tbe SUto f>f 3CB. 
Secnt GonABroooe at the Duke nf YurVa 

Hmm W3ti 2B1 
BecMt HlMory «r CharfeH IL SlB-ffiO; 

Uml Adon on Umj '243^ 2&1. 
Secret Trcfcly (rf Doroir aS5— S67. 
S«miimrv ColleoriM, DiiduyBl tciiebtng la 

tho IVi— 1*8. 
Sfnnimry Priests 35 : 
SerajjBvy eot]op:efi CartllaaJ D'OMAt an 
37; 
gOTflnied by tita JennitA 28. 
Scton, Al«UMd«r, a JosaU Priiwt HO; 
tare MaeAOtthlarQtu^nlfiSeaLlmnd BD; 
a J«dlt bii«i«|ihr of 80; 
sweiun to Uhe ScOfifnn t-eagtu: and 

Ccrr«iiutt At: 
biodft tUniBelf ta cooikiDuiiicate ki tbo 

5ct>ttiftfa Kirk 82 ; 
James ¥!« WEimed agnimttas A '^8lnT6- 

hng und a priest" 83; 
crpftUi'l Kirt of Ounformlino 81 ; 
upThjifltcd Lord Cbnocellor ofScciUAxid 



Sll 



diflgolBOd 



I 



r 



Tor noarly 40 yonn 

RomanLDt 63; 
iniUTi«d UirMf t^n« M; 
goes secretly two or three limes a 

3rHtr to tbe Popiab CoQrottuonU ft; 
taitimoiiy of V^tkor J«m«d SetOA, 

SJ. to his P4^iei7 Bi, 85; 
di<« m BoHiaaisC koA is bdiied M A 

SebDft, J-orU (0. [J^jbi^iffid RanuniBtt. 
id^ii tbe Solenui hem^ii^ ami Co¥c!- 
aftot ^; 

MU0 Aid at th« boun of tlT; 

boNflt* of lri« flerrlcH fco the Choreh 

Ma Befomt InterrleiH wltit Fktbflr 

WIUiAm Watt* 40, M; 
■enl aa Ambaa^uSor to tbe French 

pvbUcly prnfeua to bo a Ronwnlat 

In Turta Tft— TB^ 
his loUor to llM POM TS, 
SetM), F^uher Jainci, ftJ^ te*t)A9 to Uie 
«a«r«t Popenr ct the Mfolt Lord Chun* 
MUor of SeoUKid Bt— BB^ 
ShfrTRNn, Rnlph 17. 
ShBTWOud, Father ICK, 109. 
~* lua V, 109, i«0; 

fnlBW QueeD Bttabotb 111; 



clalim Eofdand hh a FM 4f the 

his ofSjrB of help io the fffnlah 

ArmadiL 130; 
his b&utfhty letter to Eltihp U. 

133, 134; 

tUa BuU depoalQf Qawo Eliubeth 

13*^-139; 
OD the claim of the F^pncr t4t tiie 

Ttirooo id Eofclaod 1?7; 
eharacfeer of 140; 

attinn pted As«ai«i natlcm &t f^rd Chaui* 
eeUor Haitlnrid^ £anctl>Mt«(] hy 1I&. 
Sotomtos of Die JflKu i I O pb* r 31 V-y2y, 340; 
DavtBa on tbe w<jrfc »/ 3^ ; 
PMovrtii OD tbe 3SS; 
the Dok« of Saint BXmon cm the 323; 
th« Abb^ ArnavM on (he 3£}i 
Dr. Mii^fllMn on the 804— 9S7| 
I'nrltnimik «ii tbe 9S& 
Sbltsuin Lfin^a awl Orrenxnt SG* IfT^^ 
Salcain Cmha of *ix Kni^li^ Kunaa 

(^alhQlk; Uiniii 9V. 
S^rininrrillit!, Juhii, (wv)kr»:ji« to uunlcr 

laixahclh 9>— »2. 
SonirHir, Mr. 4& lO. 
^outtaampton, Earl v( 24H, t&O. 
i&DAiiiBti Arnud^^ Prepuratkfca for the 
1S&-134; 
the Pupe's offer of tt«lp to the 130; 
ttddfcw to Uio offlc«n ftad fttfln afUv 

134, IX: 

a second nnt to finglasd 107. 
Spiritual Cblldnia of the Jdnltx m, 11< 

l«l^^ 
SpitHntat Fccm'.iam tt tgnatiui Lorohi 

!»a ^ISBk 380, 3ff7; 
lUnkti on Uio fOl^ $87 1 
Ilow ii$6d io eolteet nonoy l!X7, '.aiV*, 
SpolU^WiHidiv Arehbiflhop., on disf^tiiiwd 

BomaDlBU 34. 
SqnlrVj tldward^ his atbmpt to lUMcm 

iQlaibetfa 177—180. 
SteJford« Sir Edward, on Urd S«toii'« 

pMitloa Id Pari* 77. 
Stanfey, Sir %\1Iila£a 166, im, IX 174. 
St«i>l»?t(jn, Jyr. 1«7. 
Ste%f.'nEton, Knlber JoaMh, BJ^ on Abhc 

nf [h'urnnrk liotng a Fapiat 317. 
st'wtirv r&[^tBio, ctifTu0a tb* nwntliaf 

Jiimts VI. M. 
StiUifM^Ltm. [>r. ItftL 
btniiigiSi rHthcr Thoirmn, SJ, on the l»w- 

ralrujfvi uf Kin^' KilliiiK im 
Si]Ll>, Duke aU hii cha;nwt«r «f Anne uf 

DfiDttiark '2Mi. 



Talbot. Father Ppier. SJ, »; «|; 



^^T'aj 



hH leuor to Charloi n. lorHifig him 
to beotnna ncreUy a Romnn Cwtho- 
lie, 298,^9: 
nufltTeA rtinrli*^ IL M^tfrt^tly into 
the Cburcii oJ Haiti* Sit 
ilkord, rather L'lMirloa^ &J. leCl 
'wwktt <m tbe Senlliah Plot 46; 

leLter to, fron lh« Duhe of Letta«& 47; 



report)} hia interrtov with Holt and 

TGEtmoiHl^ Father Oival^ SJ. (aUns 

GreeovayX tens BalM that lite (^ua- 

povdPT Plot was for a*'{food caciiw*' Iflb; 

eotaOMUita on the gruiit c>r 10&— ID7. 

TbroeniMtOft. FranctP, Ihi* i>lot ot tVT. 
Tbmehmorlrtn^ Srr Johti, oa '"Marly re to 
tb« JkiDpMMfig Powei " ». 



358 



Dnm 



oppoMd to rtitgifls* tderayon of 

TiohbMrm. ChMoeh a, 114. 132. 

T^fconttM for Ramu C&th gUon, U« J««yitB 
vd to 13, 1%; 

ralber Kr«Hl«i ad J««iiit oppOBtilon 



P*fM a«<BeDt Vtn. appoMd lo 14: 
■all] to he ^ACLrHlv p<i«riM«'* fOlL 
Tortjuns Mr- D*tW Jftrdjoe cm «, 
Twer of LouJnn, prorHMad J«auil fttUdk 

DB ihQ iga, i9y. 

Tnrwft, John lU, ISL 
Treuoft, won tbe Je»uJta cY««ut«d for? 
7-44. 

ftna IM — tfiS* 
Trattfaain, WiUlun 22. 
Tyn«, rwhw .^ouiB, S4. %9L 



I 



UrbMQ vm. iupprMMi ibi P^OMla 



Vo»» ot ttw Jwgite Vft— 90QI, »2. 



w 



lBli»iaiflitl?0,ni,i7M*M^ 

Wftlpol*, FUber Rlol»rci« SJ, luid xbe 

fitellomUon EambtHhiTJ, ITit, iAO^lAI. 

w«Ml ntbw* P«tor, mwirlcable «tBt9- 

SMttt teM& 
War fbr tbe RGstonitiOD of Uw Temporal 

Ponw 9^. 
Wkrford, tMihef WlULaro, tiJ. MB. 
Wartl, Miry, roynOa an Oftler or FettiAle 
Jesylla '3m i 
ber Order aupprMMSl hj Urtea vUi. 

38»; 
■he rorirM ber Order irith m dw 
DUH 3^ 
Watmn. Father 107: 

aa. the >Spjri<udf EaavxMm X1^ tfB. 
Watta, ratbtf^r vvilUam, falHMcivt minim 
tfl ScoUhnrt 40--M ; 
ubtaina. n tii^rB coodnct from a ^rot«i^ 

tanl ^; 
Ml r«porl ol hlfl Tuinaian M, 
Wsloft, rathw waiiAm, SJ. oa the 
Bablagloo Cooaplratcfra VUL 



Widdriufcm, fWlli«r Etogw, on 
appoiltzaa to l;ol«rat]cn] for 
C^tliolics i%, 14. 
wmiam the Sil«<al IOGl 
WiUlaiDB, Richanl, tua plot to aosMClftala 

JOinbeth 174, {7&. im 
Winter, Roboi% auDpowder Oociaplwtar, 

u "aa aarmal CathoKe' 190, 
Wister, THotaaa. Gunpowder OHxapiraior, 

Ma gnat pi«^ 192- 
Wood, Jaines WB. VKi. 
Woodkniai, r^UMr Tbomaa. SJ. tafw 
Traitar 3; 
bla dialofal lalter to Lord Biiixbley 3; 
hia iatorvlaar with Lord Bar^bleir^; 
daolaa Eliiabelh u> ba Queea 6; 
bta trial aad axacdtloa «; 
SalaL to ba a Hartjr uf Uia ''Flrvl 
Ctaw- 7. 

apTmUin hia pioua ohaneler tOX 
Whgbtv John, OiMifk/wdar Comapjimitc 
bla gi«at pfcet^ 19& 



York, nukn of 2£a, 9Sa, afia, 779; 

acf^rot Conferaoca at fal» b«itn 38S, 
204; 



and tb« Paphwt flol of Edarard Cola- 
man f7&— 27B. 
Yorka, Edmiiad, bU ptot to Maaaaittalft 
faiiabelb 174, in, im 



THE BORROWER WILL BE CHARGED 
AN OVERDUE FEE IF THIS BOOK IS 
NOT RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY ON 
OR BEFORE THE LAST DATE STAMPED 
BELOW. NON-RECEIPT OF OVERDUE 
NOTICES DOES NOT EXEMPT THE 
BORROWER FROM OVERDUE FEES. 

Harvard College Widener Library 
Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)4952413