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During the time he remayned in prison, sundry Englishmen came. vnto him, willing him to be sorie for that he had done, and to recant from his damnable opinion: but all the meanes they vsed were in vaine; he confuted their dealings by diuers places of scripture, and willed them to be sorie for their wickednes, while God did permit them time, else they were in daunger of euerlasting damnation. These wordes made the Englishmen depart, for they could not abide to heare them.

Within a while after, he was set vpon an asse, without any saddle, he being from the middle vpwarde naked, hauing some English priestes with him, who talked to him; but he regarded them not, but spake to the people in so good language as he could, and tolde them they were in a wrong way, and therefore willed them, for Christes cause, to haue regard to the sauing of theyr soules.

All the way as he went, there were fowre did nothing else, but thrust at his naked body with burning torches; whereat he neither mooued, nor shrunke one iote, but, with a cheerefull countenaunce, laboured still to perswade the people; often bending his body to meete the torches as they were thrust at him, and would take them in his own hand, and hold them burning styll vpon his body, whereat the people not a little wondered. Thus he continued, almost the space of halfe a mile, tyll he came before St. Peters, where the place of execution was.

When he was come to the place of execution, there they had made a deuise, not to make the fire about him, but to burne his legges first; which they did, he not dismaying any whit, but suffered all meruailous cheerefullie, which mooued the people to such a quandary, as was not in Rome many a day. Then they offered him a crosse, and willed him to embrace it, in token that he dyed a Christian: but he put it away with his hand, telling them, that they were euyll men, to trouble him with paltrie, when he was preparing himselfe to God, whome he behelde, in maiesty and mercie, readie to receiue him into the eternall rest.

They, seeing him styll in that minde, departed, saying, 'Let us goe, and leave him to the deuill whome he serues: Thus ended this faithfull soldier and martir of Christe, who is, no doubte, in glory with his maister, whereto God graunt vs all to come. Amen.

This is faithfully auouched by the aforesayde Iohn Yonge, who was at that time, and a good while after, in Rome, in seruice with maister Doctor Moorton; whoe seeing the martirdome of this man, when he came home to his house, in presence of maister Smithson, maister Creed, and the sayde Iohn Yonge, his seruant, spake as followeth : 'Surely, this fellowe was meruailous obstinate; he nothing regarded the good councell was vsed to him, nor neuer shrunk all the way, when the torches were thrust at his naked body: beside, at the place of execution, he did not faint or cry one iot in the fyre, albeit they tormented him verie cruelly, and burned him by degrees, as his legges first, to put him to the greater paine, yet all this he did but smile at. Doubtlesse but that the word of God can be but true, else wee might

judge this fellowe to be of God: for whoe could haue suffered so much paine as he did? But truely I belecue the deuill was in him.

Beholde, good reader, howe they doubte among themselues, and, because they will not speake against their maister the Pope, they infer the mighty power of God vpon the deuill: but he, no doubte, one day will scatter the chaffe, and gather his chosen corne into his garner. That we may be of this good corne, let vs defie the Pope, his hellish abominations; continue in our duetic to God, faithfull obedience to her Maicstie, and vnitie among us all as brethren; and then, no doubte, but we shall enter the land of the liuing, to our eternal comfort and consolation.

ANTHONIE MUNDAY,

DECLARATION

OF

GREAT TROUBLES PRETENDED AGAINST THE REALME,

BY A NUMBER OF

SEMINARIE PRIESTS AND IESUITS,

Sent, and very secretly dispersed in the same, to worke great treasons vnder a false Pretence of Religion.

With a provision very necessarie for Remedie thereof.

Published by this her Maiesties proclamation. Imprinted at London, by the Deputies of Christopher Barker, Printer to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie, MDXCI. Quarto, Containing fourteen pages.

The following Proclamation, which I do not remember in any history, exhibits a just representation of the incessant malice of the Papists, against Queen Elisabeth, and of the vigilance which was necessary to secure her from their attempts, and therefore contributes to illustrate other accounts, which this Collection will afford.

It is likewise valuable, if we regard the study of policy, as well as history, since perhaps there cannot be any method of securing peace more efficacious, than that of obliging those, who are innocent, to be likewise vigilant, by condemning them, to answer in some degree for the faults of those whom they might have detected or restrained. J..

LTHOUGH we haue had probable cause to haue thought, that now towards the end of thirty three yeeres, being the time whereiu Almighty God hath continually preserved vs in a peaceable possesion

VOL. 1.

of our kingdomes, the former violence and rigour of the malice of our enemies (specially of the King of Spaine) woulde, after his continuance in seeking to trouble our estate, without any iust cause so many yeeres, haue waxed faint and decayed in him, and all others depending on him, and bene altered into some peaceable humor, meete to haue disposed him to liue in concord with vs, and other Christian princes his neighbors, and by such good meanes to establish an vniversal peace in christendome, nowe by his warres onely, and no otherwise disturbed: yet to the contrary wee finde it, by his present mightie actions, so great as hee neuer before this time attempted the like. Whereby it so pleaseth the Almightie God of hostes (as wee are perswaded) to suffer the ruine or correction of such as will not be content to liue in peace with their owne and to that ende, to permit the saide king, now in this his declined yeeres meetest for peace, and when he ought to be satisfied, without seeking of more kingdomes, by violence and armes (seeing hee possesseth, at this day, more crownes, kingdomes, and countries, and more earthly wealth then any of his progenitours, or any other prince Christian euer had) nowe to beginne a most vniust and a daungerous warre for al christendome against the present French King. As in like manner appeared hee meant, two yeeres past, to haue doone the like against vs, by inuading of our kingdomes, in the very time of a treatic of peace with vs. Whereof God gaue him, and his whole army, a iust cause of repentance.

2. And therefore seeing wee doe now manifestly vnderstand, that hee hath of late (to fortifie these his strange violent attempts with some newe coulour) procured a Milanois a vassaile of his owne, to bee exalted into the papacie of Rome, and hath seduced him, without consent of the college of cardinals to exhaust the treasures of the church, and therewith to leuie forces in Italie (which had no sounde of warre in it these many yeeres) and in many other places, to be guyded by his nephewe, and sent to inuade France, a kingdome that hath bene alwayes a maintainer of that church in al their oppressions. And for that this warre, so generally, and mightily against France, concerneth our estate very greatly, and cannot but be directly very daungerous to our dominions: and that it is also knowen to vs, that by sundry meanes, besides the preparation of other great forces for the seas, against our crowne and dominions, the same bee greater for this yeere to come, than euer hee had before. And, for furtherance thereof, hath also lately by coulour of this his peculiar Popes authoritie, which hee hath now hanging at his girdle, practised with certaine principall seditious heades, being vnnaturall subiects of our kingdome (but yet yery base of birth) to gather together, with great labours vpon his charges, a multitude of dissolute yong men, who haue partly for lacke of liuing, partly from crimes committed, become fugi tiues, rebelles, and traitours, and for whome there are in Rome, and Spaine, and other places certaine receptacles made to liue in, and there to bee instructed in schoole pointes of sedition, and from the ace to bee secretly and by stealth conueyed into our dominions, with ample authoritie from Rome, to mooue, stirre vp, and perswade as many of our subiectes, as they dare deal withall, to renounce their

naturall allegeance due to vs and our crowne, and vpon hope by a Spanish inuasion to bee enriched and endowed with the possessions and dignities of our other good subiectes: For which purpose, they do binde our subiectes (with whome they practise) by othes, yea by sacramentes to forsweare their naturall allegeance to vs, and yeelde their obedience wyth all their powers to this King of Spaine, and to assiste his forces. And, for the more forcible attraction of these vinaturall people (being weake of vnderstanding) to this their bend, these seedemen of treason bring certaine bulles from the Pope, some of indulgences pretending to promise heauen to such as will yeelde, and some of cursinges, threatning damnation and hell, to such as shall not yeelde to their perswasions. And, though these manner of Popish attemps haue bene of long time vsed, yet in some sort also they haue bene impeached, by direct execution of lawes against such traitours for meere treasons, and not for any pointes of religion, as their fautours woulde coulour falsely their actions; which are most manifestly seene and heard at their arraignements, howe they are neither executed, condemned, nor endited, but for high treasons, affirming, that, amongest other things, they will take parte wyth anie armie sent by the Pope against vs and our realme. And of this, that none doc suffer death for matter of religion, there is manifest proofe, in that a number of men of wealth in our realme, professing contrary religion, are knowen not to bee impeached for the same, eyther in their liues, landes, or goods, or in their liberties, but onely by payment of a peculiar summe, as a penaltie for the time that that they doe refuse to come to the church, which is a most manifest course to falsifie the slaunderous speeches and libelles of the fugitiues abroade, Yet now it is certainly vnderstoode, that these heades of these dennes and receptacles, which are by the traitours called seminaries, and colleges of Iesuits, haue very lately assured the King of Spaine, that, though heretofore hee had no good successe with his great forces, against our realme, yet, if now hee will once againe renewe his warre this next yeere, there shall be found ready secretly, within our dominions, many thousands (as they make their accompt for their purpose) of able people that will bee ready to assist such power as hee shall set on land, and, by their vaunting, they doe tempt the King hereto, who otherwise ought in wisedome, and by his late experience, conceiue no hope of any safe landing here: Shewing to him in Spaine, by the special information of a schooleman, named Parsons, arrogating to himselfe the name of the King Catholikes confessour, and to the Pope at Rome, by another scholler called Allen, now for his treasons honoured with a Cardinalles hatte, certayne skroles or bead-rolles of names of men, dwelling in sundry partes of our countries, as they haue imagined them, but specially in the maritimes, with assurance, that these their seedmen, named seminaries, priestes, and Iesuites, are, in the sundry partes of the realme, secretly harboured, having a great part of them becne sent within these x or xii moneths, and shall bee ready to continue their reconciled people in their lewde constancie to serue their purpose both with their forces, and with their trayterous enterprises, when the Spanish power shall be ready to land, vpon which their impudent assertions to the Pope, and

to the King of Spaine (though they knowe a great part thereof to bee false) they haue nowe very lately aduertised into diuers partes by their secret messengers, whereof some are also very lately taken, and haue confessed the same, that the King vpon their informations and requestes hath promised to imploy all his forces that he can, by sea this next yeere, to attempt once againe the inuasion of this realme: Wherewith because some of his wisest counsellers doubt that hee shall not preuaile, therefore hee is otherwise perswaded, that, if that his purpose shall not take place here, yet the same may bee well employed against France, or the Lowe Countries, or against some parte of Scotland, into which realme there hath also some number of the like broode beene lately sent.

3. Wherefore considering that these the intentions of the King of Spaine are to vs in this sort made very manifest; and although we doubt not, but Almightie God, the defender of all iust causes, will (as alwaye hitherto hee hath) make the same voyde: yet it is our duetie, as being the supreme gouernor vnder his Almightie hand, to vse all such iust and reasonable meancs as are giuen to vs, and therewith to concurre or rather attend vpon his most gracious fauour, by the helpe of our faythfull subiectes, both to increase our forces to the vttermost of their powers, and by execution of lawes, and by all other politike ordinaunces to impeach the foresayde practises of these seditions and

treasons,

4. And, before all other things, wee doe, first, require of the ecclesiasticall state, that the like diligence bee vsed by the godly ministers of of the church, by their diligent teaching and example of life, to retaine our people stedfastly in the profession of the gospell, and in their dueties to Almightie God and vs, as it is scene a fewe capitall heades of treasons are continually occupyed with their seminaries, in withdrawing of a multitude of ignorants to their enchantments.

5, And secondly, for hauing of sufficient forces in readinesse by sea, we hope by Gods goodnesse, and with the helpe of our good subiectes, to haue as great, or greater strength on the seas, then at any time wee haue had, to withstand these puffed vaunts from Spaine: and, for our forces by land, our trust is, that seeing we haue distributed our whole realme into seuerall charges of lieutenancies, that they, by themsclues where they may bee personally present, and otherwise by their deputies and assistants of other our ministers, will now, after the generall muse ters which haue bene by our speciall order lately taken, consider of all things requisite to performe, and make perfect al defects that shall ap. peare necessarie, to make all the bandes both of horsemen, and footemen, fully furnished with armour, weapons, and munition, and with all other things requisite for their conduction to the places of seruice, and there also to continue as time shall require to defend their countrey, And so we doe most carnestly require and charge all manner of our subiectes, with their hands, purses, and aduises, yea all and euery person of euery estate, with their prayers to God, to moue him to assist this so naturall, honourable, and profitable a seruice, being onely for defence of their naturall country, their wiues, families, children,

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