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beth's days, by which it was made treason to be a priest. By this law I am condemned for a traitor; but surely the ancient laws of this kingdom would never have done it, as the modern doth. And now judge you, whether the laws so lately made by men be sufficient to overthrow the authority of God's church, and to condemn the professors of it?

"Nevertheless, I forgive all the world from my heart, and all those who have had a hand in my death; and I beseech you all, if I have offended any of you in any thing, that you will every one forgive me. I have not had a purpose to give offence to any of you, and I pray God to give you all his grace to seek him so, as you may be made able to attain his mercy and eternal glory.

"Then he called to me, and desired me to commend him heartily to all his fellow-prisoners, and to all his friends. I told him I would, and that some of them were gone before him, and with joy expected him. Then on my knees I humbly begged his benediction; so did five more of us; and he cheerfully gave us his blessing, making the holy sign of the cross over our heads. Then one Gilbert Loder, an attorney, asked him, if he did not deserve death, and believe his death to be just? To which he replied, My death is unjust: so pulling his cap over his face, his hands joined before his breast, in silent prayer he expected almost half an hour his happy passage, by the turning of the ladder, for not any one would put a hand to turn it, although the sheriff had spoken to many. I heard one bid him do it himself. At length he got a country clown, who presently, with the help of the hangman, (who sat astride on the gallows) turned the ladder, which being done, he was noted by myself and others to cross himself three times with his right hand, as he hanged; but instantly the hangman was commanded to cut him down with a knife which the constable held up to him stuck in a long stick, although I and others did our uttermost to have hindered him. Now the fall which he had from the gallows, not his hanging, did a little astonish him; for that they had willed the hangman to put the knot of the rope at his poll, and not under his ear, as it is usual. The man that was to quarter him, was a timourous unskilful man, by trade a barber, and his name was Barefoot, whose mother, sisters, and brothers, are devout Catholics; he was so long dismembering him, that he came to his perfect senses, and sat upright, and took Barefoot by the hand, to shew (as I believe) that he forgave him; but the people pulled him down by the rope which was about his neck: then did this butcher cut his belly on both sides, and turned the flap upon his breast, which the holy man feeling, put his left hand upon his bowels, and looking on his bloody hand, laid it down by his side; and lifting up his right hand, he crossed himself, saying three times, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, mercy! The which, although unworthy, I am a witness of, for my hand was on his forehead; and many Protestants heard him, and took great notice of it: for all the Catholics were pressed away by the unruly multitude, except myself, who never left him until his head was severed from his body. Whilst he was thus calling upon Jesus, the butcher did pull a piece of his liver out instead of his heart, and tumbling his guts out every way, to see if his heart were not amongst them: then with his knife he raked in the body of this blessed martyr, who even then called on Jesus, and his forehead sweat; then it was cold, and presently again it burned; his eyes, nose,

and mouth, ran over with blood and water. His patience was admirable, and when his tongue could no longer pronounce that life-giving name Jesus, his lips moved, and his inward groans gave signs of those lamentable torments which for more than half an hour he suffered. Methought 1 my heart was pulled out of my body to see him in such cruel pains, lifting up his eyes to heaven and not yet dead: then I could no longer bold, but cried, "out upon them that did torment him so:" upon which a devout gentlewoman understanding he did yet live, went to Cancola the sheriff, who was her uncle's steward, and on her knees besought him to see justice done, and to put him out of his pain, who at her request commanded to cut off his head; then with a knife they cut his throat, and with a cleaver chopped off his head; and so this thrice blessed martyr died. Then was his heart found and put upon a spear, and shewed to the people, and so thrown into the fire, which was on the side of a hill. They say the heart did roll from the fire, and that a woman did take it up, and carry it away. This I speak not of my knowledge, but what is here reported to be true, and it may be very probable, because the hill is steep and uneven, and the heart was not thrown, as usually, but from the point of a long spear. Then did this gentlewoman and myself go to the sheriff, and beg his body, which he freely gave unto us. Now did the devil roar, and his instruments the blinded Dorcestrians (whom with my soul I deplored) did fret and chafe; and told the sheriff, that he could not dispose of his quarters to papists, neither should we have them. And truly I believe, that if we should have offered to carry them away, they would have thrown the body and us into the fire, for our number was but small, and they many thousands. Their fury did so rage against us, that we were forced to withdraw ourselves; and had not I procured the master-keeper's wife to have gone back to the town, they had stoned us, or done us worse harm, as I was told by many credible people; so great is their malice to Catholics. God in his mercy pardon and convert them. From the town we sent a shrowd by a Pro

testant woman, to wrap his happy quarters in; whom, it seems, God did send to us on purpose to do this last office unto his servant; for to us all she was a stranger, and lives twelve miles from the town. And when she heard us mourn, that not any of us durst appear, she with a courage went and saw his quarters put into the shrowd, and buried them near to the gallows, although she suffered many affronts from the ungodly multitude; who from ten o'clock in the morning, till four in the afternoon, stayed on the hill, and sported themselves at football with his head, and put sticks in his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and they buried it near to the body; for they durst not set it upon their gate, because the last before, which was long since martyred amongst them, (Mr. John Cornelius Mohun, anno domini 1594) they set up his head upon their town gate, and presently there ensued a plague, which cost many of them their lives; so that still they fear, yet will not amend; God hold his merciful hand over them, or else I fear a severe judgment will befall them for this their last inhuman cruelty. I wish the contrary, and heartily pray that we may all partake of the prayers and sufferings of this our glorious martyr, whose magnaminity and patience were to me both admirable and profitable. And well did one minister say, who was present at his death, amongst forty more of his coat, that if many such men should die, and be suffered to speak as he did, they should soon shut up their books. This is credible, although for some respects the man is not named. Sir, this briefly is what I conceived myself obliged to signify unto you concerning this subject, not doubting but you will conceive the same comfort in reading it, as I did in writing the same unto you, who am, Sir, &c. E. WILLOUGHBY."

Mr. Green suffered in the 19th of August, 1642, at Dorchester, in the 57th year of his age.

22. William Lacy, Priest.

William Lacy was a Yorkshire gentleman, born at Hauton, who for some time enjoyed a place of trust in that country under queen Elizabeth, and had a fair prospect of being advanced higher, had not his religion stood in his way. He was one of the chief gentlemen of those days whose house was open to the priests that came over from the colleges abroad, where they always met with a kind welcome, and were sure to want no service or assistance that he could afford or procure them. But as he was taught by these gentlemen, that neither he nor his family could in conscience frequent the Protestant churches, his absenting himself was soon taken notice of, and he was obliged to give up his charge. Neither was this all, but so many means were found to distress him, and such heavy fines imposed upon him every month for him and his family's recusancy, that he was obliged to leave his house and home, and to travel about, sheltering himself sometimes with one friend, sometimes with another; being never able to stay long in a place, without danger of being apprehended and imprisoned by the adversaries of his faith.At length his wife dying, he took a resolution, though he was now pretty well advanced in years, to go abroad, in order to dedicate the remainder of his days to the service of God and his neighbours in the ecclesiastical state.

He had no sooner taken this resolution, but he took the first opportunity to pass over into France to the college lately translated from Douay

to Rheims, where he was received according to his merits, and diligently applied himself to the study of divinity, frequenting the schools with the young divines, and giving great edification to all by his humility and other virtues. After having for sometime exercised himself in this manner in the English college at Rheims, he went from thence to Ponta-musson in Lorraine, to follow his studies there. From whence his devotion carried him to Rome, to visit the holy places consecrated by the sufferings of the apostles and martyrs. Here he procured a dispensation that he might be made priest; for having been married to a widow, he could not be ordained without a dispensation, which was the easier granted him, in consideration of his personal merit and great virtues.So having made the spiritual exercises in the English college of Rome, he received all his orders, and shortly after returned home, to labour in the mission, which he did with great fruit for the space of about two years, bringing over many souls to Christ and his church.

He frequently visited the Catholics that were prisoners for their conscience in York castle; where, on the 22d of July, 1582, having been with others present at mass, celebrated before day by Mr. Bell, and making the best of his way out of the castle, upon the keeper's and turnkey's taking an alarm, he was seized under the castle walls, and carried in the morning before the lord mayor of York, and counsellor Check, who having strictly examined him, committed him prisoner to the castle, with orders that he should be loaded with irons, which he kissed when they were put on him by the keepers. With this load of chains he was carried away to Thorp, the archbishop's seat, to be examined by him.What passed here between him and the archbishop could not be learned, because, after this interview, Mr. Lacy was cast into a dungeon by himself, so that could none have any access to him.

Upon the 11th of August he was brought to the bar, where he was arraigned for having been made priest at Rome, which he acknowledged, and which appeared from the letters of ordination he had about him at the time of his apprehension. But the judge, not content with this confession, pressed him further, with that murdering question, whether he acknowledged the queen to be the supreme head of the church of England? He replied," that in this matter, as well as in all other things, he believed as the Catholic church of God and all good Christians believed," Upon this he was brought in guilty of high treason, and had sentence to die as in cases of high treason. He heard the fatal sentence with a serene countenance, and an undaunted courage, saying, "God be for ever blessed, I am now old, and by the course of nature could not expect to live long. This will be no more to me, than to pay the common debt a little before the time. I am rejoiced, therefore, at the things which have been said to me, we shall go into the house of the Lord, and so shall be with the Lord for ever."

The day appointed for his death was the 22d of August, when Mr. Lacy and Mr. Kirkeman, another gentleman of the same character, were laid upon a hurdle, and drawn to the place or execution. In the way they made their confessions to each other, and when they came to the gallows, Mr. Lacy first made his prayer to prepare himself for his last conflict, and then ascending the ladder, began to speak to the people, and to exhort them to provide for the salvation of their souls, by flying from

heresy. But the ministers, apprehending that the cause of their religion would suffer by such discourses, procured to have his mouth effectually stopped, by hastening the hangman to fling him off the ladder, and so put an end to his mortal life. He suffered at York, August 22, 1582.

Richard Kirkeman, Priest.

He was born at Adingham, in Yorkshire, of a gentleman's family, and being already advanced in learning, went over to the English college of Douay, where, following his studies, he was made priest, and sent upon the mission in 1578. His apostolic labours were in the northern provinces, where, being on a journey, he was stopped on the 8th of August, 1582, by justice Wortley, within two miles of Wakefield, who having examined him who he was, what business brought him into that part of the country, &c. and not being satisfied with his answers, was for sending him and his servant to prison as vagrants and dangerous fellows.— Mr. Kirkeman perceiving how matters were like to go, thought it best to acquaint the justice with what he was, and to leave the issue to Providence, and accordingly calling for a pen, he wrote with his own hand, "that he was a Catholic priest." Upon this the justice asked him no more questions, but ordered his baggage to be searched (where they found a chalice, and other utensils, for saying mass), and both him and his servant to be carried to York, where the assizes were forthwith to be held. Their first night's lodging was at Tadcaster, where they had the bare floor for their bed. The next day they arrived at York, where Mr. Kirkeman was, without more ado, immediately brought to the bar. Here many questions were put to him, as where he had lived? whether he had ever been beyond the seas, and in what place, and for how long a time? whether he had not withdrawn her majesty's subjects from their allegiance? whether he had said mass in England, and where? &c. to these questions he candidly answered, that he had lived with Mr. Dimock, who died in prison for the Catholic faith; that he had been two years abroad; that he never withdrew any man from his allegiance to the queen, but persuaded as many as he could to embrace the true religion, and administered the holy sacrament, as time and place would permit; that he had said mass in Northumberland, but as to particular places and persons he would not name them. Upon these answers an indictment was drawn up against him, and a jury impannelled, who brought him in guilty of high treason; 1st, for being a priest of the seminary of Douay or Rheims; 2dly, for persuading the queen's subjects to the Catholic religion.

After the jury had brought in their verdict, Mr. Kirkeman was carried to the gaol, where he was again examined by justice Wortley and justice Manwaring, who, not being able to extort out of him what they wanted, Mr. Wortley, in a passion, called him papist and traitor, and loaded him with reproaches and injuries. To whom Mr. Kirkeman calmly replied, "You might, sir, with the same justice, charge the apostles also with being traitors, for they taught the same doctrine as I now teach, and did the same things for which you condemn me." After this, he was brought again to the bar to receive sentence, which was pronounced upon him in the usual form, Mr. Kirkeman, with a wonderful calmness and modesty, addressing himself to the judge upon this occasion, begged of