The absolute necessity of standing by the present government, or, A view of what both church men and dissenters must expect if by their unhappy divisions popery and tyranny should return again

The absolute necessity of standing by the present government, or, A view of what both church men and dissenters must expect if by their unhappy divisions popery and tyranny should return again

Table of contents

Title page

THE PREFACE.

THE TRUE SPIRIT OF POPERY.

[Page]

THE TRUE SPIRIT OF POPERY.

CRuelty is a Crime so detested and abominated of all Mankind, and so contrary and so destructive even to Nature it self; and withal so diametrically opposite to the Sacred Precepts and Example of Mans Propitiator, and the heavenly Founder of his Religion, that it may well be lookt upon as one of the greatest Wonders of the World, That the Church of Rome should be so daring, as to pretend establishment from Heaven, and to be the only Rule and Infallible Standard of Divine Worship among Men, that places her chiefest Safety and Protection, and has nothing more to trust to then the boisterous Arm of Inhumanity and Oppression. And then, again, it is no less to be admired, That Men endued with Reason should be so infatuated, as in opposition to Reason, and the innate Light and Law of Reason, to surrender up all their common Sense to Doctrins that uphold a more savage Tyrannie than is exercised even among the most Savage Beasts themselves, as it were in open Hostility with God and Man. For it is a Defiance of the Eternal to exercise all acts of inexorable Cruelty, unlimited Pride and tyrannical Dominion, where he commands Compassion, Mercy and Humility. And it is no less a mark of irreconcileable Enmity against Mankind, upon all occasions to [Page] labour nothing more then the Destruction and utter extirpation of Mankind, because they refuse to bow down and adore the Idol of Papal Authority. One would think that the Church of Rome had bin founded, not by S. Peter, but by Maximinus the Elder, one of the most cruel Persons upon Earth; whose Maxim it was, That no Dominion could be supported but by Cruelty, or that she had bin a Disciple of those Apostles of Inhumanity that set up the ten Persecutions. And indeed where can we better fix that Character which Scripture gives to Antichrist, of being always drunk with the Blood of the Saints, then upon the See of Rome? She, that is never well, but when she is carousing in full Bowls the Blood of Heretics; comprehending under that false and scandalous Name all People in the World that make a syncere and true Profession of Religion, the most conformable to the Word of God. Agreeable to which, is the Barbarity and Cruelty of her Doctrin, against all that refuse to submit to her Opinions; which maintains that Heretics are to be delivered over to the Secular Princes, whose Duty it is to burn them without Mercy, upon Pain of being anathematiz'd, and depriv'd of their Kingdoms and Dominions, if they deny to be the Instruments of her Inhumanity. To which we may add her Violation of the Publick Faith, which was decreed by one of her General Councils, at Constance: Insomuch, that notwithstanding the Safe-conduct which Sigismund had granted to John Huss and Jerome of Prague, care was taken to have them both burnt: So that indeed it behoves all mankind besides, that are not of her Perswasion, to stand upon their Guard, and to defend themselves against her, as if they were in the midst of the Libyan Deserts, or among Cannibals, hourly in danger of their Lives.

For Proof of which there might be produced from the Records of all Ages, all along, ever since the first Extravagances and Usurpations of Popery, Instances [...]now to convince her most bigotted Idolaters of the Truth of what is here alledged, and of what has bin so often inculcated into the Minds of Men, were since the first beginning of the Reformation; but not to insist upon the more remote Barbarities and Butcheries perpetrated upon the Albigenses, under Innocent III, (a Name ill suiting with the Cruelties which he commanded and encouraged his [Page] Minion of equal Piety and Humility, S. Dominic) to the utter desolation of a Populous Country, and extirpation of the Inhabitants; of whom the small remainder that escaped the Slaughter, were constrained to fly for Refuge into Bohemia: And the succeeding Slaughter of the Valdenses in the City of Merindoll and Villages adjoyning, under the reign of Paul III, and carry'd on by the Cardinal of Tournon, and the Bishop of Cavaellon, the Pope's Vice-Legate, with that fury, that not contented with the bloody Executions of the naked and harmless Inhabitants, they said their very Habitations in Ashes, and levelled them with the Earth. And therefore so much the more is the Power of Rome to be fear'd and prevented in a Nation that values it's own welfare and security, by how much it appears the most Cruel and Destructive Religion in the World; as not deeming any People worthy to live upon the Earth, but the Slaves of Papal Jurisdiction; and for that Reason not content with petty Cruelties, but still clearing her way to Absolute Dominion, by General Massacres, entire Desolations, and utter Extirpations. And therefore, tho' it argue Folly, and a womanish Fear, to be scar'd with Rabble-Reports, on purpose rais'd to amuse the Minds of the Vulgar Herd; yet it is but common Prudence to have a watchful Eye over those that we see so frequently guilty of Impieties of the same nature, and to be wary of being surpriz'd by such as are easily induced to act what has bin by their Predecessors so dreadfully committed already.

For that it still runs in their Blood, and that they are the same People still, unalterable in their Sanguinary Principles, there is no need of going any farther, then to begin with Queen Mary's Reign. At what time England was become such a Theatre of Fire and Faggot, as if Rome had design'd to have chang'd her imaginary, into a real Purgatory over all this Land, for the refining the Bodies of the Protestants (a very uncharitable piece of Charity) tho with this difference, That the Sufferers could neither by Prayers nor Money obtain deliverance from this, as her Adherents could both Pray and buy themselves out of their own.

So soon as Edward VI, was dead, the Lady Jane, Daughter to the Duke of Suffolk, whose Mother, then alive, was Daughter [Page] to Mary, second Sister of Henry VIII, was proclaim'd Queen of England, and the Lady Mary, King Henry's eldest Daughter put by the Succession; the Nobility, who then sat at the Helm, being not a little apprehensive that she might entangle the Crown by marrying with a Stranger, and more certainly assur'd, well knowing her obstinate Bigottrie to the Romish Tenents, in the time of her Brother's reign, that she would alter the Religion which had bin us'd as well during the Life of her Father, King Henry, as in the Days of her Brother, King Edward, and so bring in the Pope again, to the utter destruction of the Realm.

Upon this Mary retires into the Quarters of Norfolk and Suffolk, and with such of the Commons as she could get together, kept her self close for a while in Framingham Castle; thither the Suffolk Men resorted to her, and promised her their utmost Assistance, provided she would not attempt the alteration of the Religion, which her Brother, King Edward had establish'd by Laws and Orders publicly enacted and received, by consent of the whole Realm. To which Condition she readily agreed, with Promises so solemnly made, That there should be no change of the setled Religion, that no Man then could well have misdoubted her. Thus gull'd by her feign'd Assurances, the Suffolk Men stood by her, and that so faithfully, that with little or no Resistance she obtained the Crown. But no sooner was she in Possession of the Sovereign Power, but forgetting all her Promises, and joyning Ingratitude to Treachery, she forgat the Covenants made in Hebron, and displacing the Orthodox and Learned Bishops which her Brother had advanc'd, preferr'd in their rooms her own Popish Creatures; and above all the rest, those two Blood-suckers and mortal Enemies of the Reformed Religion, Gardner and Bonner, forbid Preaching and reading of the Scripture: And when the Suffolk Men afterwards petition'd her to perform her Promise, she returned them for Answer, That seeing they who were but only Members, sought to rule their Head, they should one day know, that she would make the Members obey the Head; and to strike the more Terror into others, pillory'd a Norfolk Gentleman for presuming in most humble manner to put her in mind of her Promise.

[Page] With no less Ingratitude did she prosecute Sir James Hales, one of the Justices of the Common Pleas, who had ventured his Life in her Cause, as being the only Judge that had refused to set his Hand for her being disinherited by the Kings Will; yet because he gave a Charge at the Quarter-Sessions, conformable to the Statutes in Henry VIII's time, against the Supremacy of the Pope, and concerning Religion, she imprisoned him in the Counter, Marshalsea and Fleet, where, by the continual Discourses of the Warden, of the Torments that were preparing for Heretics, he was driven to that Despair, as at last to lay violent Hands upon himself.

Queen Mary, besides that she had bin bred up from her Infancy in the Maxims and Tenents of the Romish Church, was naturally of a morose and sowre Disposition, and being so bigotted as he was to the Church of Rome, there was little Ground for the Protestants to expect any Favour, but what they might hope for upon her Promises made to the Men of Suffolk. But when she had broken those Promises, and withal, had advanced to the highest degrees of her Favour Gardner and Bonner; then too late they were too well assured of what they had to trust to.

Gardner was a Man of a haughty and imperious Spirit, crafty and subtle, to his Superiors flattering and fair spoken; to his Inferiors fierce and disdainful, and against his Equals sturdy and envious, so that his Emulation of Cromwel's Greatness, especially for favouring Bonner, (for whom Gardner had no kindness at that time) made him an utter enemy both of him and his Religion; from which, after the fall of Somerset, he became so averse, finding which way the Tide was like to turn, that he continued a cruel Persecutor of it to his dying day. For as for Divinity, he had no more then to serve his turn, as having alway addicted himself to those Arts and Studies that fitted him rather to be Great then Good. So that finding himself now at the highest Pinnacle of Authority, to which his Ambition could aspire, he abandon'd himself to those Maxims of Cruelty, which he thought most proper to secure his Grandeur. And therefore finding he must stand or fall by Popery, he resolved to gratifie that Profession which had raised him. No wonder then he were [Page] so severely Cruel, for Cruelty and Popery are inseparable. Nay, there seems to be that deep Infection in Popery, that the more strongly a Man imbraces it, the more it renders him Savage and Inhuman. For proof of which there is one remarkable Instance to be produced from the Behaviour of this Bloody and Tyrannical Bishop. The same Day that Bishop Ridley and Mr. Latimer suffered at Oxford, it happened that the Duke of Norfolk, an aged Gentleman, came to dine with Gardner, who notwithstanding that he found the Ancient Duke uneasie for his Dinner, at the usual Hour, still put him off, till four a Clock in the afternoon. But then one of the Bishop's Servants, having rid Post from Oxford, and bringing him certain Word that those two famous Lights of the Church were extinguished, out he comes to the Duke, and in an exulting Tone; Now, my Lord, cry'd he, we'l go to Dinner: As if the Bishop could not dine until he had wash'd his Hands in the Blood of those Martyrs.

Bonner was a Man of the fame Metal, fierce and barbarous beyond measure; only as he was somewhat in a lower Station, so his Cruelties were more sordid and pedantic, even to the scourging with Rods, and exercising his brutish Fists upon the Faces of the miserable Creatures that were under his Captivity. He made a Goal of his own House, such was his inveterate Malice against the Evangelics, where the poor Creatures lay in the Stocks, and under other Torments whole Days and Nights together. And if we may judge of the Heart of a Man by his Words, certainly nothing could more evidently declare the inveterate Malice of the Man then his own Expressions; nor could any thing be more unchristian-like, then what he said to one that was brought before him: They call me bloody Bonner, said he, a vengeance on you all; I would fain be rid of you, but ye delight in burning. But if I might have my Will, I would sow up your Mouths, and put ye in Sacks, and drown ye. No less bitter and inhuman was that other Saying of the Bishop, to another in his Custody: Thou art a vile Heretic, and I will burn thee, or I will spend all I have to my Gown.

These being the two great Master-Wheels that mov'd the Persecution in Queen Maries dayes, with full Power and Authority in their hands, had their inferior Instruments you may be [Page] sure, their Harpsfeilds and their Thorntons, their Promoters, Apparitors and Sumners in all corners of the Kingdom, and all acting you may be sure with all the double diligence imaginable, there being no step so probable to Church-Preferment, as to be thought a good Hangman and Executioner; no Man so Praiseworthy, as the most sedulous and treacherous Informer.

And now began those blazing Bonfires of Human Flesh in all Towns and Cities of the Nation; such horrid roastings, toastings, and broylings of Mankind, which if so terrible to the ear, of necessity must have bin dreadful to the sight of the Beholders, Young and Old, Men and Women, faggoted together four, five, seven, and ten in a cluster, and committed to the devouring Flames, to rejoyce the hearts of the merciless Papists, for being again restored to their ancient Authority: And doubtless such again would now have bin the Bonfires for the recovery of lost England, so soon as they had fix'd their Power. And why all this infernal execution of Fire, for the confusion of Heretics, unless it be to let us understand, that if the Devil be of any Religion at all, he must be a Papist, by his making such a terrible use of the same Element? Thus much in General; let us now descend to Particulars.

And because it is the business of these few sheets, to set forth the Cruelties of the Papists, in their malicious Prosecution of the Protestants, and to shew what dangerous Masters they are like to prove where-e'er they get the upper hand, we shall begin with Bloody Bonner (for that was the glorious Epitaph which he had acquir'd to himself, by his inhuman way of endeavouring, as he pretended, to Convert the Misguided Protestants) whose Rage and Malice was so exorbitant toward those innocent Creatures, that he laid aside the Function of Bishop, and rather chose to take upon him the Office of a Hangman and Tormentor, then to be out of Employment. To which purpose he had in his own House his Prisons and Dungeons, of which two were more particularly remarkable; the one call'd his Cole-House, where he kept his Prisoners without Meat or Drink, allowing them only an Half-peny a day for Bread, and a Farthing a day for Drink: Adjoyning to which Cole-house was another close Dungeon, where the poor Prisoners were kept with their Hands and Feet all at [Page] once in the Stocks, not without great torment and misery. In this Dungeon Thomas Whittle, a Minister of Essex, who through the extremity of his Imprisonment, was constrain'd by Writing to yield to the Bishop of London his Jaylor, upon which he was set at liberty; but soon after repenting of what he had done, he came to the Bishop's Register, and asking for his Bill of Recantation, tore it with his own hands. With which the Bloody Bishop being acquainted, sent for the Minister again, fell upon him with a Lyon-like fury, cuft and box'd him till his Face was black and blew, and at last pluckt away a great part of his Beard.

Besides this Cole-house, he had another Prison within his House, which was call'd Mondays-hole, which Dungeon was within a Court where the Prebends Chambers were, being a Vault under Ground, having a Window enclos'd with a Pale, about four Foot and an half high, and about three Foot distant from the same; so that the Prisoners looking from beneath, could only see such as stood at the Pale. In this Prison, among others, was Alice Binden, first imprisoned by the Bishop with so much rigour, that for nine Weeks together she was forc'd to lye upon a little short Straw, betwen a pair of Stocks and a Stone-wall, with a short Allowance of Three Farthings a day for Bread and Water; during all which time she never had the liberty to change her Apparel, whereby she became a most miserable and loathsom Spectacle to behold: After which Cruelty in Mondays-hole, they were at length so merciful to her, as to burn her in Smithfield.

He had also another loathsom Prison under his own Jurisdiction, call'd the Lollards Tower, within the Cathedral of St. Paul's it self, which as it had bin formerly made use of for the Imprisonment of Heretics, and particularly for the murthering of one Richard Hunn, a Merchant-Taylor of London in the time of Fitz James, Bishop of the same Diocese, so Bloody Bonner continued for the same use during his own time. This Hunn being cited into the Spiritual Court by one Thomas Dryfeild, Parson of the Parish of St. Mary Matsilon, for a Mortuary which he unjustly claim'd of the said Hunn, upon the Burial of a Son of his that dy'd at Nurse in the said Parish. Upon which Hunn, by the advice of his Counsel, pursu'd a Writ of Praemunire against [Page] the said Dayfield; which so incens'd the Priestly Order, that they forg'd Articles of Heresie against him, and got him committed to the Lollards Tower, where he was murthered by Dr. Horsey the Bishop's Chancellor, who to colour the Murther, gave out that he had Hang'd himself. But the Citizens not so satisfied, demanded that the Coroner might sit upon him. Which startling the Bishop and his Chaplains, it was resolv'd that the Bishop should proceed Ex Officio, against the Dead Body, supposing that if the Party were once condemn'd of Heresie, the Inquest durst not then but find him guilty of his own Death: But notwithstanding the terrible Condemnation of the dead Body, Dr. Horsey and his Accomplices were found Guilty of the Murther. So that had not the Bishop labour'd with Cardinal Woolsey in the Doctor's behalf, to take away the Scandal from the rest of the Clergy, he had had his deserts the next Sessions.

In this Lollards Tower it was, that Bloody Bonner imprison'd several of his Captives, where they were enforc'd not only to a single but a double Captivity; not only enclos'd within the Walls of the said Tower, but forc'd to sit with their Hands and Feet in Stocks on purpose provided within the said Prison. With which inhuman dealing, and for want of Food, no less then three at once were famish'd to Death, and by the Tyrannical Bishop commanded to be cast like Dogs into the Fields: For such is the Mercy of Popish Charity, that they will not allow so much as Christian Burial to Heretics. His very Parlour, and his Orchard at Fulham did the inraged Bishop turn into Places of Execution.

For the Bishop being inraged at the Constancy of one Thomas Thomkins, a Weaver, who was his Prisoner at Fulham, sent for him one day into his Parlour, in the presence of Dr. Harpsfeild, Pendleton, and Chadsey. At what time the poor Man standing stifly in defence of his Faith, the cruel Bishop having a Wax-Candle of three wicks standing by him upon his Table, took him by the Fingers, and held his Hand directly over the Flame, till the Veins shrunk, and the Sinews burst, insomuch that the Water spurted forth in Harpsfeild's Face.

[Page] In the like manner did the Bishop serve a poor pitiful blind Harper; who being brought before him for a Heretic, presently cry'd the insulting Prelate, Such blind Abjects as thou will be following Heretical Preachers; but when they come once to feel the Fire, will be the first that fly from it. To whom when the poor Man reply'd, That tho' every Joynt of him were burnt, yet he trusted in God he should not fly, the Bishop order'd a burning Coal to be brought him, and then thrusting it into the hollow of his Hand, commanded his Servant to clutch it again, till the poor Man's Hand was miserably burnt to the Bone.

And because the Bishop knew it was as much the Office of an Executioner, to Scourge as well as Burn, he resolv'd to be no less remarkable for the one then the other. Among the Sufferers at his cruel Hands, of this nature, was one Thomas Hinshaw, a young Lad of about Nineteen or Twenty years of Age, who because he adventur'd to dispute the Case with the Bishop and his Archdeacon Harpsfeild, was adjudg'd a Heretic; and by Bonner, then being at Fulham, carry'd into his Garden, and there in an Arbor, being commanded to kneel down against a Bench, was forc'd to endure the fury of Bonner, who laid on with a Rod of Willows till he was quite out of Breath. Of the same number was also another, whose Name was John Wills, who because he refus'd to recant as the Bishop would have had him, was immediately carry'd into his Arbor in the Orchard, where the enrag'd Prelate belabour'd the poor Young Man first with Willow, then with Birchen Rods, till his strength, tho' not his fury, fayl'd him.

But the most Tragical Act, (which if not committed by him, yet was no less permitted by him in his own House, which was the same thing, while he had knowledge of the Fact,) was the barbarous Whipping of a Child of about Eight or Nine years of age, that came to the Palace for leave to see his Father in Lollards Tower. This Child being told by one of the Chaplains that first met him, That his Father was a Heretic; made Answer, That his Father was no Heretic, but that He, meaning the Chaplain, was a Heretic, as having Balaam's Mark. For which the Chaplain carry'd him into the Bishop's House, where among them they so cruelly handled the poor Child, that he dy'd within [Page] fourteen days. However it were, Bonner fearing the Detection of a Crime so horrid, releas'd the Father, in hopes his Mercy to the Father might attone for the Death of the Child.

These Barbarities thus acted by Bonner, and perpetrated within his own Walls, were committed by the rest of the Gang with equal virulency and inveteracy. Particularly by one Sir Edward Tyrrel, a Justice of the Peace at that time in Essex, who coming to Colchester to apprehend an old Man and his Wife that were accus'd of Heresie: After he had seiz'd the Father and Mother, not liking the Replies which the Daughter gave him to certain Questions which he put to her, took the Candle out of her hand, and holding the Maid by the Wrist, held the flaming Candle under her hand so long, till the very Sinews crackt asunder; all the while he exercised this Cruelty, reviling the Maid, and bidding her, Cry Whore, why ye young Whore wont ye cry? And in the end, after the Sinews burst, that all the house heard them, he thrust the Maid violently from him, calling her, strong Whore, shameless Beast, and beastly Whore, to shew how well he could follow the Examples of his Superiors.

Mr. Robert Samuel, Minister of Barfold in Suffolk, was most inhumanly handled by Dr. Hopton the Bishop of the Diocese, and his Chancellor Dr. Downing. Who after they had got him in their clutches, kept him in a close Dungeon, chain'd bolt upright to a great Post, in such a manner, that standing only on tiptoc, he was forc'd to stay the whole weight of his Body upon his Toes. And to make amends for the pain which he suffer'd by that means, they kept him without Meat or Drink, so that he was most unmercifully tormented with hunger and thirst; only that they allow'd him two or three mouthfuls of Bread aday, and three spoonfuls of Water, to keep Life and Soul together; insomuch that his burning, which afterwards ensu'd, was but a trifle in comparison which he had suffer'd in tedious Imprisonment; while the quick mercy of the Fire deliver'd him from the more severe Cruelties of the Bishop and Chancellor.

At Chester, one George Marsh, a Priest, being condemn'd by Doctor Coates, then Bishop of that Diocese, was carry'd to the Stake, where to the usual cruelty of Burning, they added [Page] a new Invention, of pouring melted Pitch upon his Head.

In the Town of St. Peter's Port, in the Island of Guernsey, three Women, a Mother and her two Daughters, being first imprison'd upon Suspicion of Buying Stoln Goods, after they were acquitted of that, were again remanded to Goal, for not going to Mass. Of which the Magistrates gave notice to Jacques Amy, and to other of the Clergy, whose officious zeal for the Popish Cause was so enormously extraordinary, that upon the bare Letter of the Magistrates, they return'd the three Women for Heretics, tho' they had never bin so much as Examin'd before them, or had had any particular Information against them. But the Magistrates understanding that the Women had not been Examin'd by the Dean, would not sit upon them in Judgment, until they had been first carry'd before the Dean and Curate to be Examin'd of their Faith. Which being done, after a short Examination severally and apart, they were return'd to Prison again. After which the Dean sent a Sentence under his own Seal and the Curate's Sign, whereby the Women were Condemn'd as Heretics, and deliver'd over to the Magistrate to do Execution. The Women being sent for to receive their Sentences, desir'd to know their Accusers, and what was laid to their Charge, for that they knew not that they had at any time offended the Queen or the Church, being ready to obey the Ordinances of both, as good Subjects ought to do. But notwithstanding their Reasons and Allegations, the three Women were all condemn'd and adjudged to be Burnt. And now these three Innocent People (only for the Name of Heretics) being brought to the Stake, the Mother was fastned to the middle Post, the Eldest Daughter on the Right-hand, and the Youngest on the Left. They were first strangled; but the Rope breaking before they were dead, the poor Women fell in the Fire. At what time happen'd a doleful sight, that would have drawn Compassion from the most barbarous of Infidels. For one of the Daughters, who was Big with Child, falling on her side, as her Belly burst with the vehemency of the Flame, the Infant being a lusty Man-Child, fell in the Fire, and was presently snatch'd out of the Fire, and laid upon the Grass, by one that stood by. Immediately the Child was carry'd to the Magistrate. But the Bailiff, [Page] neither regarding the miraculous Acts of Providence, nor mov'd with common Humanity, upon an Infant so wonderfully preserv'd, either out of stupid Ignorance or wilful Blindness, ordered it to be carry'd back again and thrown into the Fire. And thus the Infant, baptiz'd in his own Blood, was both born and dy'd a Martyr, leaving behind him, to the World, which it scarcely ever saw, a miserable Spectacle of the Herodian Cruelty of Popish Tormentors.

In like manner Eliz. Pepper, being one of thirteen, that were burnt together at Stratford Le Bow, being about thirty Years of Age, tho' they well knew that she was far gone with Child, was hurried with the rest to the Stake, and consum'd to Ashes, with the Fruit of her Womb; such is the difference between Popish and Protestant Mercy, which never denies a Reprieve, even to the worst of Fellons, tho' but upon the bare Suggestion of a great Belly. Nor did this Inhumanity extend to the Living, but their Barbarity still persecuted the Bodies of the Dead; for after they had tormented several in their loathsom Dungeons to Death, with Hunger and Thirst, they were so inhuman as to deny them the common Favour of Christian Burial. Thus Edw. Burton, Esq; dying in the Diocess of Chester, and desiring to be buried in his Parish Church of S. Chadds in Shrewsbury, the Curate of the Parish, John Marshal, would not suffer the Interment of the Corps. Upon which, one of the Friends of the Deceased making answer, That God would judge him at the last day: The Curate replyed, Judge God or Devil, he should not be buried there: So that they were forced to bury the Gentleman in his own Garden. Thus William Glover, dying a pretended Heretic, and his Friends desirous to have buried him in the Parish Church of Weme in Shropshire, the Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield, sent forth a Mandate, not only to command the Curate, that he should not be buried in Christian Burial, but that no Man should procure, help or speak to have him buried in Holy Ground. And whereas his Brother John Glover, dying in the same Condition at Coventry, was buried by stealth in the Church-yard, without Priest or Clerk; yet when Dr. Drant, the Chancellour, came to hear of it, he ordered him to be taken up again, and cast over the Wall into the High-way. To which, when the [Page] Parson answered, That he had lain six Weeks, and smelt so that it was impossible to endure the Stench. Well then, said Drant, take this Bill and pronounce him in the Pulpit a damned Soul, and a twelvemoth hence cast his Carcass over the Wall for Carts and Horses to go over, and then I will come and consecrate again that place of the Church-yard, where he lay.

In the Castle of Canterbury, no less then five being famish'd to death, they were all buried in the High-way, by order of Thornton, the Suffragan of Dover, otherwise call'd Dick of Dover. For indeed such was the extream severity of Thornton and Harpsfield, that the Goalers of Canterbury, whether of their own rugged Natures, or call'd out of purpose, either would not or durst not admit of the Relief which was sent or brought the half-famish'd Prisoners; but they either turned it back, or kept it for their own use.

After all this, what may be thought of the detestable and execrable piece of continued Malice and Violation of the Sepulchres of the Dead, exercised at Cambridge towards the Bones of Bucer and Phagius; Persons that while they lived, so far transcending in Learning and Piety, the whole Rabble of Illiterate and Ungodly Bishops and Priests, who so violently prosecuted their Sacred Relicts, that they were not to be nam'd in the same day with those two Great and Famous Men? This was a piece of Pageantry, perform'd with so much Pomp and Solemnity, that nothing more detected the Rancour and Hatred of the Papists against all Men of Piety and Vertue: Nevertheless it proceeded so high, that the deceased Bucer and Phagius were formally cited to appear before certain Commissioners appointed for their Judges, and for default of Appearance, not only their Persons, but their Books and their Bones were condemned as Heretical, after a ridiculous Examination of Witnesses against the Dead, the Churches where they lay buried were excommunicated, & after all, their Cossins were taken up, and being chain'd to their several Stakes, and burnt, together with their Bones, not with out the Indignation and Laughter of the People that beheld the hateful Spectacle; who as they derided the Folly, so likewise they abominated the ridiculous Cruelty of the Actors. Nor did their [Page] barbarous Fury end here, for they pursued the very Bones of Peter Martyr's Wife to Oxford; where, without any consideration of her Sex or her Religion (which had never been made known, by reason her Language was not understood) her Corps was digged up, and buried under a Dunghil. But at length, after the Death of Queen Mary, this Persecution ceas'd, after the burning of two hundred eighty four; tho' Grindal, who liv'd in that time, reports, That in two Years eight hundred were burnt, besides sixty, who after most Severe and Cruel Usage dy'd in Prison. And to shew that it was not the Conversion but the utter extirpation of the Heretics, which those mischievous Papists aimed, and still do aim at, may readily appear, by the story of Bembridge, who was burnt near Winchester: This Man feeling the Violence of the Fire, cryed out, That he recanted; whereupon the Sheriff caused his People to put out the Fire; in hopes, that since the Popish Clergy desired the Conversion and not the Destruction of Heretics, such an act of Mercy would not displease them. But the Council sent him Orders in Writing, To go on and execute the Sentence, and to take care that the Prisoner dy'd a good Catholic; for it was said, if he recanted sincerely he was fit to dye, if he did it not sincerely, he was not fit to live: And after all was done, the Sheriff was committed to the Fleet for his Presumption. But Harpsfield was not of the Sheriff's mind, he understood the Sense of the Roman Catholics better; for he having several condemned Prisoners under his Custody in Canterbury, and being at London, at the time when Queen Mary lay dangerously sick, made hast home, for fear the miserable Creatures should escape by her death; and was so speedy, that five were burnt before the News of her Death could arrive.

After all this, what difference between the Religion of these Cruel Papists, and the Religion of the Ancient Druids in France, which Suetonius calls Religionem dirae immanitatis? The Druids were always besmearing their Altars with the Blood of their Slain Captives; and Popish Cruelty is never satisfy'd, but when they are fumigating their Host with the Blood of Heretic Holocausts; so that the same Reason which moved Claudius, a Heathen Emperour, to abolish the one, may justifie a Christian [Page] Prince, in at least exterminating the other out of his Dominions.

But now to trace them into other Countries; we find this cruel Generation of Men still perpetrating the same or worse Acts of Inhumanity, if worse can be, wherever they get footing and Power, and either by the Fury and exorbitant Tyranny of their Inquisition, or by the Arms of bigotted Zealots, whole Country's wasted and depopulated, and the Natives cut off from the Face of the Earth by Rapine and tormenting Murder.

In the Persecution of the Waldenses of Provence, such was the merciless Cruelty of Miniers, at the Instigation of the Pope and his Legates, that he invaded their Territories with an arm'd Force, by the Permission of Francis I, at what time the People were slain without resistance, Women and their Daughters ravished, the Breasts of many Women with Child cut off, many that were with Child murthered, after which their Infants were famish'd to Death. All their Habitations were pillag'd, sack'd and burnt, and Proclamation made, That no Man should give any Relief to those that remain'd alive. Upon the taking of Cabrieres, Miniers caus'd all the Men to be brought into a Field, and to be cut in Peices, the Soldiers striving who should shew the best of their Manhood in cutting off Heads, Legs and Arms. And as for the Women, he caus'd them to be lockt in a Barn, with a great quantity of Straw, and so set sire to it, so that many Women with Children were burnt: Upon which a Soldier mov'd with Compassion, opened a Hole in the Wall for some of them to escape; but Miniers caused them to be beaten back again with Pikes and Halberts. Some of them also that came forth, he slew with his own Hands, ripping open their Bellies, so that their Children came forth, which he trod under his Feet. Many fled into Cellars and Caves, which he caus'd to be dragg'd out, driven into the Field, stuipp'd stark nak'd, and then slain. After this Miniers sent one of his Captains to the Church, whither several Women and Children were fled for Sanctuary; whom he put all to the Sword, sparing neither Young nor old.

[Page] Then marching to a Place call'd Costa, where his Men committed the same Outrages and Slaughters, ravishing Women and Virgins to that beastly degree, that the Women with Child and young Maids dyed presently after. Such as hid themselves in Rocks and Caves were either famished to Death, or else choak'd with Fire and Smoak put to the Mouths of the Caves.

In the beginning of this Persecution, there was one John de Roma, a Monk, who had got a Commission to examin those whom he suspected to be Heretics, and which he exercis'd with all sorts of Cruelties upon those that fell into his Clutches; among the rest, this was one. He filled Boots full of boiling Grease, and put them upon their Legs, tying them backwards over a Form with their Legs hanging down over a Fire, after which manner he most cruelly tormented several, and then as Cruelty put them to Death.

No less was their Rage against the Heretics in Bohemia, where they made nothing to pistol the Reformed Pastors in their Pulpits; and shot one Aged Minister, among the rest, as he lay sick in his Bed.

In the Town of Minion the Commissioners demanded of the People a positive Answer, Whether they would turn Catholics or no? And when one, in the name of the rest reply'd, That Conscience neither would nor could be forc'd, he was presently laid upon the Ground and beaten; and still denying to turn Catholic, when he could hardly speak, was torn in pieces.

At another Place the Senators refusing to turn Apostates, the chiefest of them was made to ride the Wooden-Horse in the Market-place for six Hours together, tho' he were very Ancient; so that he was lame and half dead when he was taken off.

In some Places they shut up the People in the Church, and forced them to receive in one kind; and if they would not kneel before the Host, they used to beat their Legs with Clubs till they fell down; others they gag'd, and when they had propt their Mouths wide open, they thrust the Host down their Throats. Others were detain'd in Prisons and Bonds so long till they dy'd, and particularly one was kept in a loathsome Dungeon so long till his Feet rotted off.

[Page] If any, to avoid this Tyrannie fled to the Woods or other Private Places for Shelter, Edicts were publish'd forbidding all to entertain them, upon Pain of forfeiting great Sums of Money for every Nights Entertainment. The Country People were fetch'd out of their Houses; nay, out of their very Beds, by Troops of Soldiers, who drove them before them like Beasts in the sharpest of cold and bitter Weather. And with these poor Creatures they filled the common Prisons, Towers, Cellars, Stables; nay, and Hog-sties too, where they were kill'd with Hunger, Cold and Thirst. Marriage, Burial and Baptism were forbidden to the Protestants, and if they did it privately, they were imprisoned, or else put to great Fines. Among others, a Heretic Surgeon, for refusing to recant, was thrown into a Place full of Snakes. In some Places the Heretics were shut up in Privies, to the end they might be poisoned with the Stench. And these were the Charitable ways, by which the Bohemian Catholics endeavour'd to reclaim such as were revolted from the Tyrannie of the Pope.

The Inquisition was the true Pattern of Treachery, Perfidiousness, Tyrannie and Cruelty, erected at first by the Advice of the Dominican Fryers, against the Jews and Moors in Spain, but afterwards turned to the Ruine and Destruction of all that made true Profession of the Gospel.

To this Office belong two sorts of Vermin, which are call'd Familiars and Flies: The Familiars are to keep Company with all People, to creep into their Companies and grope their Bosomes; and under the colour of Friendship to give them daily Visits, to have an Eye upon all their Actions, and to observe what Company they keep, and with whom they converse: And when these Familiars have pickt up sufficient Matter for Information, they presently accuse them to the Inquisitors. Now, so soon as any one is Arrested by any of these Familiars, they take from him all the Keys of his Studies, Cabinets, Chests and Trunks whatsoever, and they take an Inventory of his Goods; in the doing of which, the Familiars, who are generally Bawds, Thieves, Shoplifts, and the scum of the People, will be sure to pilfer a good share.

[Page] The Flies are a sort of Miscreants, which the Inquisitors commit to Prison, under a Colour. These Flies will cunningly, in two or three Days insinuate themselves into the Bosomes of the other Prisoners; and then pretending a great deal of Religion, will profer to discourse them, and by degrees get out of their Mouths matter of Accusation against them. Which done, they move for a Day of Hearing, and by that means being brought before the Inquisitors, they impeach the Prisoners, who shall be sure to hear of it afterwards to their Sorrow. These Flies, as soon as they are out of one Prison, for lucre of Money, will be content to be put into another, and so into a third and a fourth, where they will lie in Chains, as the other Prisoners do, enduring Hunger, and Cold, and the Stench and Loathsomness of the Prison, and all to betray others.

If a Keeper of any of the Prisons belonging to the Inquisition happen to be of a Gentle and Courteous Nature, and use his Prisoners favourably, the Offence is so heinous, if it come to the Inquisitors Ears, that he is sure to be whipt about the City, and to be condemned to the Galleys for six Years.

If any of the Prisoners sing a Psalm, or recite any Portion of the Scripture, the Inquisitors take it for a very great Offence, and presently send an Officer to him, requiring him to be silent, upon Pain of Excommunication; and if he do not take that for a Warning, they order a Bit to be put upon his Tongue to teach him Obedience.

As for the Torments which the Inquisitors make use of to extort Confessions from their Prisoners, they are of two sorts: The first is that of the Gibbet or Pulley; with which, when a Miserable Creature is to be tormented, first comes one behind him, and binds his Hands with a Cord, eight or ten times about, the Inquisitors calling upon him to strain each Binding harder then other. Then they cause the Prisoner's Thumbs to be bound extream hard, with a small Line, and so both Hands and Thumbs are fasten'd to a Pully which hangs on the Gibbet; then they put heavy Bolts on his Feet, and hang upon those Bolts, between his Feet, certain Weights of Iron, and so hoise him or her (for they are never curious of the Sex) from the Ground; and while the poor Wretch hangs in this Plight, the Inquisitors exhort [Page] him to accuse himself, and as many others as he knows of, (excellent Popish Christianity) and if they can screw nothing out of him, then they command the Prisoner to be hois'd higher to the very Beam, till his Head touch the Pully. After he has hung thus a good while, and that nothing comes from him, the Inquisitors (who are both Spectators and Judges of the Torment all this while) command him to be let down, and twice as much Weight to be fasten'd to his Heels, and so to be hois'd up again. Then they command the Executioner to let him up and down, that the Weights of Iron hanging at his Heels may have the greater Force, to rend every Joynt of his Body asunder: With which insufferable Pains, if the Party cries out, then the Inquisitors roar out as loud to him again, To confes the Truth, or else he must come down with a Vengeance. And then they order the Executioner suddenly to slip the Rope, that the Party under Torture may fall with a Sway; and then stopping in the mid way, they give him the Strappado; which being as soon done, it rends all his Body out of Joynt, Arms, Shoulders, Back, Legs, &c. by reason of the suddain Jerk, and the Weights hanging at his Legs.

They have another sort of Torture, which is call'd the Aselli, which is after this manner. There is a Piece of Timber somewhat hollowed at the top, like a Trough, about the middle whereof there is a sharp Bar, going cross, whereon a Man's Back resteth, that it cannot go to the Bottom: It is also so plac'd that his Heels shall lye higher then his Head. Then is the Party, naked, laid thereon, his Arms, Thighs and Legs, being bound with strong small Cords, wrested with short Truncheons, till the Cords pierce almost to the very Bone: Then they take a thick Piece of fine Lawn Cloth, and Jay it over the Parties Mouth, as he lies upright upon his Back, so that it may stop his Nostrils also, then taking a good Quantity of Water, they pour it in a long Stream, like a Thread, which falling from on high, drives the Cloth down into his Throat; which puts the miserable Wretch into as great an Agony, as any Man endures at the Point of Death: for in this Torture he has not Liberty to draw his Breath, while the Water stops his Breath, and the Cloth his Nostrils; so that when the Cloth is drawn out of the [Page] bottom of his Throat, it draws out Blood with it, and a Man would think it tore out his very Bowels. And this Torment is iterated as often as the Inquisitors please.

There is yet another sort of Torture, which is much pactis'd by these Inquisitors, not inferiour to the former: For they take a Pan of burning Charcoal, and set it just over against the Soles of the Parties Feet, just before he goes to the Rack; and that the Fire may have the more Force upon them, they bast them with Lard.

When a Heretic is brought forth upon the Stage to be disgrac'd, or to the Stake to be burnt, he is attired in a Sambenito, or long Garment, painted all over with ugly Devils, having a high-crown'd Hat, upon which a Man is painted burning in the Fire, with several Devils plying him with Fire and Faggot. Their Tongues are also put between a cleft Piece of Wood, which nips and pinches their Tongues, so that they cannot speak, and their Hands are moreover fast bound behind them. And yet, such is the Wicked Hypocrisie of these Inquisitors, that when they bequeath any person to the Secular Power, to be burnt, they do it with this humble request, To shew the Prisoner as much Favour as may be, and neither to break any Bone, nor pierce the Skin of his Body. A strange piece of Impudence, to pretend to so much Mercy and Clemency toward those, to whom themselves have bin all along so extreamly Barbarous and Cruel.

These Inquisitors, one time among the rest, apprehended a Noble Lady in Sevil, because that a Sister of hers, a vertuous Virgin, confessed in the Extremity of her Torments, that she had sometime had Conference with this Sister of hers about matters of Religion. This Lady they shut up in close Prison, and us'd her in all things, as they did their other Prisoners, and at length, so terribly tormented her in the Trough, that by reason of the strait straitning of the Strings, cutting to the very Bones of her Arms, Thighs and Shins, she was brought back half dead to the Prison, the Blood gushing out at her Mouth in great abundance, so that she dy'd within eight days.

In the same manner was a whole Congregation of Faithful and Religious People cut off at Sevil, the most of whom the Inquisitors consum'd with Fire, as they could discover and apprehend them.

[Page] By what has bin said, it may be easily seen how great and exorbitant is the rage and cruelty of these bloody and merciless Inquisitors to all that profess the Truth of Scripture; and how slight a thing they make of murthering and torturing the Bodies of all that come under their tyranny; making no distinction either of Age or Sex. And hence it may be as easie for all true Englishmen to judge how fatal the Consequences might have bin, had the Liberty of this Nation bin subdu'd under the heavy weight of Inquisition and Slavery.

In Germany, after the Victories of Charles V, against the Lutherans, there ensu'd a very bitter Persecution in many places, Authority arm'd with Laws and vigorous Malice, striving against simple Verity. Both Ministers and People, some were tossed from place to place; some exil'd out of their native Countries, others driven into the Woods, and forc'd to live in Caves; some tormented upon the Rack, and others burnt with Fire and Faggot.

Henry Sutphen, a laborious Minister, was by his merciless Adversaries the Monks and Priests in Meldorp, hal'd out of his Bed naked, in the depth of Winter, and driven bare-foot over the Ice, till his Feet were cut to the Bone; then bound in Chains, and set in the Stocks; after that remov'd to another place, and shut up in a Cupboard; the next day bound Hands and Feet and Neck together, and hurry'd away to be burnt. At what time a certain Woman proffering herself to suffer Two thousand Stripes, and give them a considerable Sum of Mony, but to respit his Life till he could have a public Hearing, they threw her under foot, and trod upon her; and not content to burn the poor Martyr inhumanly and barbarously, cut and mangled him before they threw him in the Fire.

Another of the same Function was thrown into Prison, where, among other Cruelties, he was hoisted up with a Cord, and a great Stoue hanging at his Heels, so that the Sweat which dropt from his Body through pain and anguish, lookt like Blood, and they let him down with such an extraordinary swing, that the violence of the fall laid him almost for dead; then they let him down into a deep Dungeon, where they kept him eighteen days, and then burnt him. And all this while, none but the Monks and Fryers both his Accusers, Judges, and Hangmen.

[Page] With the same cruelty was one Nicholas apprehended at Antwerp, bound up in a Sack, and thrown into the River.

In the Year 1543, notice being given that certain Lutherans met privately together at Lovaine, an Inquisitor coming from Brussels with a Band of Soldiers, brake into their Houses, and hal'd away the Men and Women out of their Beds from their Children. Two were burnt alive in the Fire; an Aged Man was beheaded, and two old Women burnt quick. Which leads us to the bloody Persecution in the Netherlands.

Where the Light of the Gospel being much spread abroad, King Philip of Spain sent the Duke of Alva with a great Army to root out the Professors of it; who exercised unparallell'd Cruelties and Butcheries against all sorts of Persons both of the Nobility and Commons, permitting his Soldiers to Ravish Matrons and Virgins, while their Husbands and Parents were forc'd to stand by and behold it.

The Duke himself also boasted, that he had bin a diligent Rooter out of Heresie; for that besides those which he had slain in War, in the space of six yeras he had put into the Hands of the common Hangman above eighteen thousand Persons.

His Son Don Frederic being sent by him to Zurphen, was receiv'd by the Burghers without any Opposition; yet was he no sooner entred the Town but he fell to murther, hang and drown a number of Inhabitants, with infinite Cruelties shew'd upon Wives and Virgins, not sparing the very Infants. From thence marching to Naerden, the Inhabitants made an agreement with him, and he entred the Town upon Conditions consented to, and the Faith of a Soldier. But never did Canibals or Scythians, or the most barbarous People in the World, commit more abominable Outrages then Duke Frederic sufferd in this Town. For after he had assembled the Burghers into the Chappel of the Hospital, under pretence of giving them Instructions for the future government of their City, he commanded his Soldiers to murther them all, without sparing any one. Thus the Men were Massacred, the Women were first Ravish'd, and then most cruelly Murther'd, the Inhabitants and Children had their Throats cut; and in some Houses they ty'd the Inhabitants to the Posts, and then set fire to their Houses, and burnt them alive. So that in [Page] the whole Town, neither Man, Wife, Maid nor Child, Young nor Old, werespar'd.

After this, the Town of Harlem was, after a long Siege, surrendred to the same Don Frederic upon a Composition, by which they were to pay Two hundred and forty thousand Florins to redeem themselves and the Town from Spoil. But Don Frederic having thus got into the Town, commanded that at the Toll of the Great Bell, all the Burghers and Soldiers should carry their Arms into the Stat-house; that the Townsmen should go into the Cloyster of Ziel, the Women into the Cathedral Church, and the Soldiers into another Church; and while the poor Burghers were guarded in the Church, the perfidious Spaniards plunder'd their Houses. The next day, the bloody Don Frederic caus'd Three hundred Walloons to be Hang'd and Beheaded; and the next day, Captain Riperdon and his Lieutenant, together with one Stemback a Minister, were hang'd, and Two hundred forty seven Soldiers drown'd in the Sea of Harlem. The next day, a great number were executed, and the next day Three hundred more Soldiers and Burghers lost their Heads, together with one Simon Simonson another Minister. Presently after, three of the principal Magistrates lost their Heads; and to fill up this Sea of Blood, all the Sick and Wounded were beheaded before the Hospital-Gate.

Not long before, the Town of Valenciennes, in Hainault, having the free Exercise of the Reformed Religion among them, was surrendred to the Lord of Noircarmes, upon good Conditions. Nevertheless the said Noircarmes being entred, kept the City-Gates shut for divers days, and most perfidiously and barbarously hang'd up all the French Soldiers, with all the Ministers and Protestant Merchants. So little safety is there to be expected from the Treachery and Perfidy of Roman Catholics, whom no Considerations of Conscience or Honour are sufficient to oblige to keep Faith with Heretics.

At the same time, the bloody Inquisition was no less active in the Spanish Netherlands, where multitudes of People were murthered without any Pity or Compassion, and their dead Bodies thrown into the public High-ways, to be gaz'd upon by all that past by. Numbers of Believers, both Men and Women, [Page] were thrown into Prison, where they languish'd and dy'd, the greatest part of them for want of Food.

John de Boscane was apprehended at Antwerp, and for his Constancy in his Religion condemn'd to Death; but because the Magistrates durst not put him to death publicly, they resolv'd to drown him secretly in the Prison: For which purpose a Tub of Water was provided, and an Executioner sent to drown him; but the Water was so shallow, and the Prisoner so tall, that the Executioner seeing he could not dispatch him that way, gave him several wounds and stabs with his Dagger, and so did his work. And thus go where you will, you shall find Fire, and Faggots, Massacres, Racks and Gibbets, the only method by which the Romanists support their Cause, and propagate their Faith.

And indeed the Popish Priests and Friers had a fine time of it to exercise their Cruelties in Flanders, being under a Popish King so bigotted to the Pope, and such an Upholder of the Inquisition, that by their Advice he poyson'd his own Son, for which he was applauded by Pius V. And if the Head be so barbarous, no wonder the Members are so blood-thirsty. With these Inquisitors it was that Philip the Second consulted what he should do with his Heretic Subjects (as he call'd them in the Netherlands) who answer'd, That all the People of the Belgic Netherlands, and all the States of those Countries, except such as were otherwise noted in their Probation-Books, were Sectaries, Apostates and Rebels, and not only those who were openly revolted from God and the holy Church, but also those who dissembling themselves to be Papists, had bin neglecting to suppress the Sectaries and Heretics at the beginning. As also, That all those Noblemen and others who had preferr'd and publish'd Petitions, against the holy Inquisition, and so had under-hand encourag'd the Sectaries and Heretics to Sedition, were all guilty of high Treason both against God and Man. Upon these Instigations it was that Philip the Second sent his Orders to Alva, by which he was commanded, according to the Decree of the Inquisition, to rack and torture all Revolters and Sectaries according to that rigorous method which was prescrib'd him. For which reason Articles were propounded in his [Page] Council, commonly call'd the Council of Blood, according to which the Judges were commanded to determin and settle the Punishments, that there might be no difference among them in the variation of Sentences; which comprehending altogether Nocent and Innocent, left no hole for any Man to creep out of, and exempt himself from the Sanction of the general Decree. Heavens! what an inhuman thing it was to see the Country People harras'd with the Demoniacal Decrees of the Inquisitors; and the Cities fill'd with Butcheries and Exilements of those that tarry, and with the Sequestrations and Plunderings of those that were fled. In one day no less then eighteen Persons of chiefest Remark and Quality, were publicly put to death at Brussels by Alva and his Council of Blood. The next day three more of great Note, together with a Minister of extraordinary Worth and Learning, were executed in the said City; where also soon after Count Horn and Count Egmond lost their Heads, being brought with a strong Guard from Brussels. And all these Murthers did Alva, together with his Bloody Council, bring to pass out of a mortal hatred of all that favour'd or abetted the Reformed Religion.

With no less fury and despite did Philip the Second pursue the Prince of Orange himself, whom because he could not get into his hands by fair and open hostility, he endeavour'd to destroy by the treacherous hands of unsanctify'd Desperado's. For William of Nassaw being General of the United Provinces, after they had shaken off the Popish Yoke, presently the King of Spain proscrib'd him, and in his Proscription promis'd a large Sum of Mony, and large Preferments, to any one that should bring him into Spain alive or dead. Which soon encourag'd several to make the attempt: Among the rest, one Javeregny was pitch'd upon by a knot of Confederate Papists to do the Fact, of which they intended to share the Profit. For which purpose he was directed to charge a Pistol with two Bullets, and to shoot the Prince behind in the Head. And the Eighteenth of March was the day appointed for the Execution: Upon which day the Prince was to be at a great Feast at the Duke of Anjon's Court. But the Press being too great there, the Assassin rather chose to do it at the Prince of Orange's own House, as he sate at Dinner. [Page] The Villain thus desperately resolv'd, a Jacobin Frier came to him and Confess'd him, gave him the Popish Communion, and fortify'd him in his Resolution with many sweet words, persuading him that he should go invisible, to which end he gave him certain Characters in Paper, and little Frogs Bones, with other petty pieces of Conjuration.

After this he drank a draught of strong Wine, and so accompany'd with his ghostly Father, he went to the Prince's Court, where at the Stair-foot the Fryer gave him his Blessig (a hopeful Blessing) and so left him. Nor did the Villain faint in his design, for he shot the Prince; but neither the Fryer's Blessing nor his Conjuration prov'd effectual as was intended: For neither did the Wound prove Mortal, nor the Assassin escape with his Life, being immediately run through by the Prince's Followers. And the Jugling Fryer was also apprehended and executed.

The Papists having mist their blow, but still believing they had no greater Opposer in the World then the Prince of Orange, and that if he were dead, they should quickly attain their desire in the Netherlands, found out a fit Instrument, one Balthazar Gerrard, who was more successful, and watch'd his opportunity so well, that as the Prince was going out of the Hall after Dinner, the Murtherer stood behind a Pillar, and as the Prince was going by, shot him from the Left Side to the Right, through the Stomach and Vitals. So hard a thing it is to scape the never sleeping Argus's of Popish Malice and Revenge. And so far different are the Papists from all other Men that have any thing of common Morality, not to mention Christianity, that whereas all other Men detested the Fact, they alone rejoic'd and glory'd in it. Nor was it at all for the honour of the Spanish Monarch to countenance such an inglorious and treacherous Act of Assassination as this was. Nevertheless it cannot be said to be the only President, which shews that the Contagion of Romes bloody Maxims spreads it self as well into the Courts of Princes, as into the Cloysters of Rabble Monks and Jesuites. For let us but step into the neighbouring Kingdom of France, and there we shall see Popish Treachery and Dissimulation in the highest degree, designing not only the Massacre of single Persons, but [Page] of thousands in Clusters, and all upon that unchristian Pretence of rooting out of Heretics. A strange blindness in Princes, not to discover themselves to be only the Pope's Instruments to destroy their own Subjects, and dispeople their own Dominions, merely to pleasure the Tyranny and Usurpation of an Antichrist.

After a tedious Contest of ten years, in all which time the Popish Party made but little progress in their Designs, being headed by the Prince of Conde, the old Admiral Coligny, and several other great Lords their Kindred and Adherents, Charles IX, who was but young, the Queen-Mother, and the Duke of Guise began to think of laying Force aside, and to betake themselves to Craft and Dissimulation. To which purpose the King was advis'd to set on foot a Treaty of Peace with the Protestants, not so much out of a design to quiet Affairs by a happy Settlement, as to bring the Protestants into a fatal Snare, in which being once intrapp'd, they might be the more securely and easily destroy'd. For it was believ'd that the Extirpation of Heresie might be done at a much cheaper rate then by a Civil War, if the Protestants had granted them what Conditions they desired, and were treated with all imaginable Kindness; by which means their Jealousies being once extinguish'd, and they lull'd into a Confidence, the chief Heads of the Party might be drawn to the Court, and then they were sure of them. To this effect the first bait to be offer'd, was the Marriage of the King's Sister to the King of Navar: Which not succeeding, new means might be thought upon, till they found out one that would do their business. Nor would it signifie any thing if the King of Spain and the Pope were offended to see the young King so highly favour Heretics, in regard that when they had effected their Design, he would come off at last with so much the more Honour, and receive applause from both.

The Plot being thus laid, the Queen-Mother by her Emissaries assur'd the Protestants, that she mortally hated the Spaniards, which for several good Reasons was then easily believ'd. On the other side, the King dissembled an Inclination to undertake the Protection of the Netherlands, then under the Tyranny of the Duke of Alva. He also seem'd to be weary of the Greatness of [Page] the Duke of Guise and his Party. Moreover the Queen of Navarr was promis'd an Army for the recovery of her Country. And as for the Constable, he was weary of the Civil Wars, and believing he should be the Person employ'd in the Conquest of the Netherlands, began to listen to these Lures. So that upon these and some other Conditions, a Peace was concluded between the King and the Protestants, and some cautionary Towns put into their hands till a full settlement of Matters. In all which things the King acted his part with all the subtilty imaginable: He shew'd himself much kinder to the Mont morency's, and the rest of the Admiral's Friends; seem'd to neglect those of Lorain; threatned the Parliament of Paris, for making some difficulty in passing the Edicts in favour of the Protestants; treated privately with Lewis Count of Nassaw about the Wars of the Netherlands, entred into a Confederacy with Queen Elizabeth, and employ'd the Cardinal of Chastillon to treat of a Match between Her and the Duke of Anjou. And when the Spanish Embassador and the Pope's Legate dissuaded him from the Peace and the Marriage with the Queen of Navar, the King desir'd the Legate to assure the Pope, that his design in the Marriage was only to be reveng'd on those that were Enemies to God and himself; and that he would either cut them all to pieces, or lose his Crown.

Upon such Demonstrations as these it was no wonder if Persons of so much candour as the Queen of Navarr and the Admiral were deluded. The Admiral went first to Court, where he was receiv'd by the King with all the shew of Respect and Kindness imaginable. He embrac'd him three times, laid his Cheek so his, squeez'd his Hands, call'd him Father, and left nothing omitted to possess him with a deep opinion of his Friendship. Nor was the Queen less officious in her Carriage to him. He was allow'd a Guard of Fifty armed Gentlemen; a Hundred thousand Franks were sent him to refurnish his Houses that had bin spoil'd during the Wars. And when he carry'd any Complaints to the King of any Violation of the Edicts, the King order'd the Offenders to be forthwith severely punish'd. With all, the King told him, That since he had got him so near his Person, he would never permit him to forsake him as long as he liv'd.

[Page] The Admiral being thus successfully brought into the Toyl, the Proposal of the Marriage was vigorously carry'd on, and the Queen of Navarr was next inveigled to Court; but soon after dy'd (as is generally presum'd) of Poyson, which was given her in a Pair of perfum'd Gloves. To conceal which, the Chyrurgeon that opend'd her (according to his Instructions) would not open her Head, but pretended she dy'd of an Impostume in her Side. The Cardinal of Chastillon was poyson'd also at the same time; which tho' confess'd by him that did it, was hush'd up without any further Enquiry made into the business.

However, to colour these Miscarriages, the King of France seem'd to be wholly bent upon the War in Flanders; to which purpose he sent into the Low-Countries and Germany to consult about the Preparations. He also furnish'd the Count of Nassaw with Mony, and sent some of his best Commanders with him, who acted their part so dext'rously, that Mons was surpriz'd by the Count of Nassaw, and Valenciennes by Lanoue. Upon which all Men believ'd that the King was now engag'd, and the War begun. Upon which the King of Navarr and the Prince of Conde were brought to Court, and receiv'd with all the Marks of assured Friendship. A Dispensation was also obtain'd from the new Pope for the Marriage; which the Pope was easily induc'd to grant upon the Information which he had receiv'd from the Cardinal's Legate of the King's treacherous Design in Marriage, which it behov'd the Pope neither to obstruct nor delay. So that the Bull being sent to the Cardinal of Bourbon, the day was appointed, and the chief Heads of the Protestants were all drawn into Paris, partly to be present at the Solemnities, partly to get Employments in the Army, which all Men believ'd would be commanded by the Admiral.

And now the Design being ripe, the Duke of Guise, who was privy to the Conspiracy, was order'd to gather as many Desperado's and Bravado's about him, as might be fit for any sort of Mischief. By which means the Plot getting into more hands, took wind, so that the Rochellers being inform'd of some suspicious Passages, wrote to the Admiral to leave the Court, and not to trust the guilded Appearances which he saw there. But [Page] the Admiral was so infatuated, that he wrote them back a long Answer, wherein he assur'd them, That the King's Heart was wholly chang'd, That there was never a better Prince in the World, and that for his part, he would rather die a thousand deaths, then suspect him capable of so base a Design. So easie a thing it is for Treachery in Youth to deceive hoary Generosity and Candour.

On the Seventeenth of August the King of Navarr was marry'd, and four days were spent in all the magnificent Divertisements which are usual upon such Occasions.

But now it was time for the Mine to play, that had bin so long working under Ground. As for the Protestants, there was nothing to be blam'd but too much Candour and Confidence. They design'd nothing but the Tranquility of their Country, and the Grandeur of the Crown.

On the other side, in the Papists, nothing but deep Dissimulation and villanous Design. While the Protestants were cajol'd with the most engaging Tokens of Friendship that ever could be shew'd, they took the King to be sincere, and being then but just coming to be of Age, that he was going about to take new Methods of Government. And he had so artificially cover'd the Cruelty of his Temper with a shew of Good Nature, that the Protestants expected nothing but happiness under him. And as for the Queen-Mother, tho' they knew her too well to put any Confidence in her, yet her passionate Affection for her Daughter, and her Revenge against the King of Spain, for poysoning her Daughter, made them believe themselves now assur'd of her. And perhaps so deep and so refin'd a piece of Dissimulation was hardly ever known in the World before. So that there was but one part of the King's Deportment which could give any Ground for Jealousie, and that was his continual using most horrid and blasphemous Oaths and Imprecations to make the Protestants believe the Reality of his Intentions; a sort of Persuasion which always raises Suspition among sober and wary Persons.

However the Protestants beginning at length to apprehend some danger, the Papists thought it necessary to execute their Design with all speed. For they saw the King resolv'd to let [Page] those who had surpriz'd the Towns in Flanders, perish without sending them any relief. The Admiral also was resolv'd to take his leave in few days; besides that, his Friend Montmorency saw the Storm coming, and was retir'd to his House, together with several other little Circumstances, which gave them all just Cause of Fear: So that the Popish Party had no time to Iose. Therefore on the Twenty second of August, about Noon, as the Admiral was going home from the Court, reading a Paper which he had in his hand, Maurenel the Assassin, whom the Duke of Guise had made choice of to do the Feat, shot him from a a House where the Duke had plac'd him, with a Harquebuz charg'd with three Bullets thought to be poyson'd. Of which one carry'd away a part of the Fore-finger of the Admiral's Right-hand, the other stook in his Left Arm, and the third miss'd him. The King being in the Tennis-Court when the News was brought him, counterfeited a deep Resentment, and seemingly full of Affliction, and with a terrible Oath cry'd out, Shall I never have quiet? and so throwing away his Racket, went out in a rage.

Afterwards the King of Navarr, and the Prince of Conde coming to the King to complain, and desiring leave to go out of Town, since there was no safety so near the Court. The King seem'd to resent it more then they, and with the horriblest Oaths he could think of, swore he would execute such a Revenge on all that were found guilty of it, whoever they were, that it should never be forgotten, desiring them to stay and be Witnesses of it. The Queen-Mother also seem'd to inflame his Rage with most vehement Expressions, by which means they were persuaded to stay.

The next day, the King, with the Queen-Mother and his two Brothers, went to visit the Admiral, and coming to his Bed-side, express'd the greatest Tenderness imaginable, and in his Looks, and by the tone of his Voice, dissembled the most profound Sorrow that could be, saying to the Admiral, You, my Father, have receiv'd the Wound, but I feel the Smart, and will punish it in so severe a manner that the like was never known.

[Page] The next day, the Duke of Guise, and his Uncle the Duke of Aumale, coming to the King, and desiring leave to go out of Town, the King by his Looks and Carriage seem'd to abhor them; telling them that they might go whether they would, but that he would find them out, if they appear'd to be guilty of the Fact. Upon which they took Horse, as if they had intended to go out of Town, but came back to Guise House, and presently began to raise Commotions in Paris, sending their Agents up and down the City, and Arms to several Parts. Upon which the Admiral sending to the King to desire a Guard, about Fifty were sent him, under the Command of Cossoius, one of his most implacable Enemies; only some of the King of Navar's Swisses were sent to keep Guard within the Doors. The King also order'd all the Papists that lay near his House, to remove their Lodgings, that the Protestants might have the more conveniency to be about him.

All which seem'd not only very sincere, but very kind; and by such Arts as these were the Protestants not only secur'd from Fears, but also had great hopes rais'd in them of future Advantages. Only the Vidame of Chartres saw through this Disguise, and in a Council of the Protestant Party held in the Admiral's Chamber, spoke his mind freely, and propos'd, That the Admiral, ill as he was, might be carry'd to Chastillon, in which there would be less danger then to stay in a place where they and all their Friends would be suddenly destroy'd; and so the next day left the City.

This was carry'd to the Queen-Mother by a persidious Person in the Assembly, one Bouchavannes. Upon which both she and her Party being press'd for time, they resolv'd to delay the Execution of their Design no longer then the next night. So that the Cabinet Council being met, it was resolv'd, That not only the Persons of Quality of the Religion should be Kill'd, but that every one, of what Condition soever, that were of that Profession, should be Massacred.

There was a long Debate, whether the King of Navar, and the Prince of Conde should perish among the rest. But as for the King of Navar, it was thought contrary to the Laws of Hospitality and of Nature to murther a Prince, that was now so [Page] nearly ally'd to the King. But for the Prince of Conde, the Duke of Nevers, who had marry'd his Wife's Sister, interpos'd so vigorously for him, that at length he prevail'd for the sparing of his Life. But for the rest, it was agreed on to raise the City of Paris, and set then on upon the Party.

The Conduct of which was committed to the Duke of Guise, who first imparted his Design to the Guards, and order'd them to keep a strict Watch, both about the Loure, and the Places where the Admiral and his Friends were lodg'd, that none might escape. Then assembling the Chief Magistrates and Officers of the City at Midnight in the Town house, he gave them to un [...]stand, that the King was resolv'd to destroy the Heretics, that had so long distracted the Kingdom: That therefore they should repair every one to his Quarter, and have all People in readiness with the greatest secresie that might be; and that they should provide Torches and Flambeaus in a readiness, to light out at their Windows: That the Sign should be a white Linnen Sleeve on the Left Arm, and a white Cross in their Caps; and upon tolling the great Bell of the Palace, which should be done near the break of day, they should light their Torches and march.

In the mean time the King was under great Irresolutions: The Horror of the Fact, the Infamy that would attend it, and the Danger he might be in, if it either miscarry'd or were not fully executed, fill'd him with great Confusion. But the Queen, who had overcome all the Persuasions of Tenderness and Pity which are natural to her Sex, so soon as she heard of it, hastned to him, and wrought him so effectually, that in the end she prevail'd, and caus'd the King to swear bloodily that he would go through with it. Which done, the Queen being impatient, and fearing a turn in the King's Mind, caus'd the Bell of St. Germans forthwith to be toll'd; which was the Warning for tolling that of the Loure.

This Fatal Sign was given upon the morning of the twenty fourth day of August, being Sunday, and St. Bartholmews day. Upon which in a short time (with so much Diligence, the Blood-suckers had hasten'd their Preparations) above three score thousand Men were in Arms. The Duke of Guise with his Uncle [Page] Aumale, hasten'd with the first (such was their eager desire of Revenge) to the Admirals Gate; which upon call was soon opened by Cosseius, who kept Guard there on purpose, the more easily to betray him; and then the Murderers killed the Porter, and broke into the Court, where the King of Navars Switzers being overpowr'd by number after some Resistance, the Murderers to the number of seven, all in Armour, broke into the Admirals Chamber, and finding him up, and in his Night-gown, Besme, that had bin one of the Duke of Guises Grooms, advanced towards him; and having first thrust him into the Belly, cut him over the face, upon which he fell, and then the rest pierc'd him with their Swords, till he was quite dead. The Duke of Guise being below in the Court-yard, and hearing the noise, called to the Murderers to throw him out at the window; which Besme and another did. At what time, when he was down, the Duke or Angoulesme wiped his face disfigured with blood, to see if it were he indeed, and perceiving it was he, trampled upon his Belly, and so went away: An Italian cut off his Head, and carryed it first to the Queen Mother, then Embalmed it, and sent it to Rome. After this, all the Ignominy and Barbarity imaginable was exercised about the dead Carkass. His hands and fingers were cut off, his Body dragged about the Streets, thrown in the Sein, and hang'd up in Chains, his feet uppermost. But some days after Montmorancy caused it to be taken down secretly, and buried in his Chappel at Chantilly.

This done, the Duke of Guise ran out into the Streets, crying aloud, that it was the Kings command they should go on, and finish what they had begun. And then it was, that the Multitude was let loose to murder all that were of the Religion; for which the Plunder of their Houses was to be their own. After which, ensued the most enraged and cruel Massacre that ever was heard of: It exceeded all that either the Heathen had done, or all their Poets had faign'd, while every Man seem'd a Fury; and as if they had bin transformed into Wolues and Tigres, out did the cruelty of Beasts: Twenty Lords of Note, Twelve hundred Gentlemen, and Ten thousand others were all killed. No Age or Sex was spared, Husbands and Wives were Murthered [Page] in one anothers Arms, after they had seen their Children killed at their feet. One of these Miscreants butcher'd an Innocent Babe, as it was playing with his Beard. Men of Four-score were not permitted the small Remainder of their Lives; but hewn down before their time: Nor did a single death satisfy their brutish Rage; but they made the poor Creatures dye many deaths before death releived them. Those that fled to the Tops of their Houses, were made to leap down into the Streets, where they were knockt on the head like Dogs; Such as thought to escape through dark Passages, were either immediately kild, or driven into the Seine, where the blood-thirsty Papists took pleasure in killing and drowning them according to Art. The Streets ran Blood; and the Loure it self was full of Blood and the dead Carkasses of those whom the King of Navar and Prince Conde had brought along with them for their security; But where they expected a Sanctuary, they found a Massacre.

Thus were the Protestants destroyed in Paris, with a Treachery and Cruelty, which the most Barbarous of Nations had never shewed one to another: Nor had the Heathen bin ever guilty of any like it, towards the Christians. The President which the Church of Rome had shewn in the Massacre of the Albigenses, was the likest thing to it in History for Barbarity: But never had Treachery and Cruelty met together in such a manner, till this Execrable day.

Soon after a Jubilee was granted to all who had been in that Massakcre, and they were eommanded to go every where to Church, and bless God for the success of that abominable Action. So little did they relent, after all these black and bloody Crimes, that they believed they had done God good Service. And to that hight did their Impudenoe rise, that they presum'd to Address themselves to that Merciful Being, who abhors cruel and Blood-thirsty Men, and that with hands not only polluted with Blood, but boasting of it as a Sacrifice offered to God, which had bin a fitter Oblation to him that was a Lyar and a Murderer from the beginning.

But these bloody Facts were not confin'd to Paris only; there being a Prosecution of the same Cruelties in many other Parts of France. For at Meaux, a little Town not far from Paris, they [Page] began about the twenty fifth of August, and spent the whole week in shedding Blood: They kill'd above two hundred, many of which were Women, whom they deflowr'd before they Murdered. At Troy in Champaigne about the same number was kill'd: At Orleans a thousand; six or seven hundred at Roan. At Bourges, Nevers and La Charite, all they could find were killed: At Tholouze, two hundred were slaughtered. At Bourdeaux they were for some time restrained through fear of the Rochellers, but the Priests did so inflame the Multitude, that at length they Massacred all they could find. At Lyons the Governour had a mind to have saved the Protestants, and to that end having got together about six or seven hundred, lodged them in several prisons to preserve them. But the people were so heated by the Clergy, that they broke open the Prisons, and Murdered them all; dragg'd their Bodies through the Streets, and cut up the bellies of the fattest of them to sell their Grease to the Apothecaries: So that all over France, as it is reported by a credible Author, there were no less then a hundred thousand Butcher'd; besides a hundred thousand more that were sent a begging, the most of them Widows and Orphans.

When the News of this Massacre was brought to Rome, which was upon the sixth of September following, a Consistory of the Cardinals was presently call'd, at what time the Legates Letter, which contained the Relation of the Massacre, being read, they went immediately in a Procession to St. Marks Church, where they offered up their solemn Thanks to God for so great a Blessing to the See of Rome and the Catholic Church. And on the Monday following, there was another Procession made by the Pope and Cardinals to the Minerva, where they had High Mass, and then the Pope granted a Jubilee to all Christendom, of which this was one of the Reasons, that they should thank God for the Slaughter of the Enemies of the Church, lately Executed in France.

Two days after this, the Cardinal of Lorrain had another great Procession of all the Clergy, Embassadors, Cardinals and the Pope himself, who came to St. Lewis's Chappel, where the Cardinal said Mass in Person, and in the King of France's name, thank'd the Pope and the Cardinals for their good Counsels, the [Page] help they had given him, and the Assistance which he had receiv|'d from their Prayers.

Soon after, the Pope sent Cardinal Ursin, in his Name, to congratulate the King of France, who in his Journey through the Cities, highly commended the Faith of those Citizens who had a hand in the Massacres, and distributed his Holiness's Blessings among them.

Moreover the best Picture-drawers and Tapestry-weavers were put to work to set off this Action with all the Glory and Splendor that Art could invent, and a Suit of these Hangings is to this day in the Pope's Chapel.

By all which we may easily gather what is to be expected from the True Spirit of Popery, and what we are to look for, whenever we come to lye at the Mercy of Priests and Jesuites, whose Religion and Tenets will not only bear them out, but embolden and encourage them to commit such treacherous and bloody Acts.

From hence to proceed, and shew that more Arts of Cruelty have bin found by the Romish Clergy, for the Propagation of their Religion, then ever the Heathen Persecutors reach'd to, let us take a short view of the Irish Rebellion.

For most certain it is, that the first Principles of that inhuman Conspiracy were roughly drawn and hammer'd out at the Roman Forge, powerfully somented by the Treachery and Animosities of some of the Chief Irish Natives; and being once hatch'd and set on foot by that Vicar of the Devil, the Pope, was carry'd on by those vigilant and industrious Emissaries of his, who are sent continually abroad by the Power of that abominable See, with full Commission, per fas & nefas, to make way for the reestablishment of the Popish Religion in all Parts where it has bin suppress'd; and by their venomous Infusions work so powerfully upon the blind, ignorant and superstitions People, as to make them easily ready for Change, the Great ones mischievously to Plot and Contrive, the Inferior sort treacherously to rise up and execute whatever they command. By the Examinations also of several Persons to whom the most eminent and active of the Irish Priests has confess'd it, it appear'd that the Priests, Jesuites and Fryers of England, Ireland and Spain, and other Countries [Page] beyond the Seas, were the Plotters, Contrivers and Projectors of that Insurrection, and that they had bin busied above six years in preparing and bringing it to pass. And by Letters from Rome to Sir Phelim Oneale and the Lord Macguire, which were intercepted, it was no less apparent that the Pope and his Cardinal Nephews rejoyc'd when they heard that Sir Phelim had taken Arms, and assur'd him all Assistance from Rome. The Jesuites, Priests, Fryers, and all the rest of the viperous Fraternity belonging to their Holy Orders, were well assur'd of that, and therefore during the six years, lost no time, but most dext'rously apply'd themselves to accomplish their Design. So that when the Plot was so surely (as they thought) laid, that it could not fail, and that the Day was once prefix'd for Execution, they were so impudent as publicly to solicit Heaven, by their Prayers, for the good Success of a great Design much tending to the Good of the Kingdom, and the Advancement of the Catholic Cause. And to facilitate the Work, and incense the Zeal and Fury of the People, they loudly declaim'd in all places against the Protestants, telling the People they were Heretics, and not to be suffer'd any longer to live among them: That it was no more a Sin to kill a Protestant, then to kill a Dog; and that it was a mortal and unpardonable Sin to relieve or protect any of them.

According to this Doctrin, one of the Irish Priests being ask'd, whether it were not lawful to kill an English Minister, because he would not go to Mass, made Answer, That it was as lawful to kill him, as to kill a Sheep or a Dog. And several of the Irish Rebels after the Cessation, confess'd, That their Priests had given them the Sacrament, upon condition they should spare neither Man, Woman nor Child that were Protestants. Nor did those Caitif Priests and Fryers stick to stir up the Multitude, by promising them Celestial Wages for the Reward of Slaughter and Massacres. Insomuch that one Ocullan a Priest told his Auditors, That the Bodies of such as dy'd in the Quarrel, should not be cold before their Souls should ascend up into Heaven, and that they should be free from all the Pains of Purgatory. But the most comfortable Encouragement was the Licence which their hellish Priests gave them, under the Assurances of its being [Page] Lawful and Meritorious, to Strip, Rob and Dispoil the Protestants, there being no greater Incentive to provoke the Multitude to Wickedness and Villany, then Plunder and Rapine.

The Rabble being thus let loose, and prepossess'd by their Priests with a belief, that it was lawful for them to rise up and destroy all the Protestants, as being worse then Dogs, or rather Devils, and such as serv'd the Devil, and assuring them, that the Killing of such was a Meritorious Act, and a rare Preservative against the Pains of Purgatory, presently fell to work, and having partly by Force, and partly by Treachery, possess'd themselves of the Chief Places of Strength in several Provinces, disarm'd the Protestants, robb'd them of their Goods, stripp'd them to the Skins, and gotten their Persons into their Power, could no longer contain from acting in all Places where they became Masters, those horrid Massacres and execrable Murthers which Canibals themselves would be asham'd to own. Then the True Spirit of Popery began to appear in her own Colours, and with delight to satiate her ancient implacable Malice, in her long wish'd for, and often plotted Destruction of the Inhabitants.

At the Castle of Lisgool, in the County of Fermanagh, the said Castle being set on Fire, an Hundred and fifty Men, Women and Children were either burnt or smothered to death, not above two or three escaping.

The same bloody Company being admitted into the Castle of Tullah, tho' it were deliver'd into the hands Rorie Mac [...]uire upon Composition, and faithful Promises of fair Quarter; yet the Protestants having surrender'd their Arms, were first all stripp'd by the Rebels, and them most cruelly murther'd, to the number of an hundred: For they massacred still by Whole-sale.

In the same County of Fermanagh, seventeen Protestants were half hang'd in the Church of Clownish, and so buried. For should we number single Murthers, we should never have done, and therefore we pick out the choicest of their Cruelties. And thus they were not content to Murther a Child of one Thomas Stratton of Newton, but Boyl'd it to Death in a Caldron.

In the Parish of Kilmore, they thrust two and twenty Protestants into a thatch'd House, and then burnt them alive. In another place, they compell'd a Woman to hang her own Husband. [Page] One John Greg was quarter'd alive in the Church of Loghgall, and his Quarters thrown in his Father's Face. Lieutenant James Maxwell, by Order of Sir Phelim Oneale, was drag'd out of his Bed raving in the height of a Fever, driven two Miles, and murther'd; and his Wife great with Child, stripp'd stark naked and drown'd in the Black-water, the Child halfborn.

At Leighlin Bridge, a Woman was deliver'd of two Children, of which one had the Brains dash'd out against the Stones, the other was more mercifully murthered.

A Dyar's Wife of Ross-Trevor, being great with Child of two Children, had her Belly ripp'd up by the Rebels, and was thrown both she and her Children in a Ditch.

In the County of Roscommon, one William Stewart had Collops of Flesh cut off from his Body while he was alive, Fire-coals put into his Mouth, and his Belly ripp'd up, and his Entrails wrapt about his Neck and Wrists.

Near Temple-House in Slego, ten Men, Women and Children were buried alive. And in the same County the Rebels forc'd one Lewis the Younger to kill his Father, and then hang'd the Son.

In the County of Tyrone they hang'd up eight Scoth Infants upon a Cloather's Tenter-hooks; and having ripp'd up the Belly of a Scotchman, they ty'd the end of his small Guts to a Tree, and then wound him round and round the Tree, that they might try (as they said) whether a Dog's or a Scotchman's Guts were longest.

With such an inhuman Violence, and unsatiable Thirst of Innocent Blood; with such Savage Butcheries of Men, Women and Children, without respect either of Age, Sex or Quality, unparallell'd in Story, did this barbarous and cruel Rebellion overflow the whole Kingdom of Ireland. And all this by the Contrivance, and at the Instigation of the most immortal and bloody Generation of Men, the Jesuites, Popish Priests and Sacrilegious Fryers; a sort of People so wickedly inhuman, and so inhumanly cruel, that the Damned may look for more Mercy in Hell, then Protestants at their hands, where-ever they come under their tyrannical and destructive Power.

For not only by the recited Examples, but by a cloud of other Proofs it appears, that the Execrable Rage of the Irish [Page] Murtherers, inflam'd by those Infernal Incendiaries, was not satisfied with the variety of Tortures and cruel Deaths of the Living, by Stripping, Starving, Burning, Strangling, burying alive; and by many Exquisite Torments putting Men, Women and Children to death (insomuch that a quick dispatch was a great Mercy, so cruel are the Mercies of the wicked) but their Hellish Rage and Fury extended also to the Babes unborn, ripping them out of their Mothers Womb, and destroying those Innocent Creatures, to glut their Savage Inhumanity. Nor stopp'd it there; but extended also to the Ransacking of the Graves of the dead, while they dragg'd the dead Carkases of the Protestants out of their Graves, that they might not rest in hallow'd ground.

Neither did their Execrable Malice stay here, but became boundless, not only to the Destruction and Devastation of the Houses, Castles, and whole substance of the Protestants, but even to the utter Extirpation of the English Nation, and the Protestant Religion out of the Kingdom. All which they acted with that brutish fury, as if the wild Beasts of the Deserts, Wolves, Bears and Tigres, nay Finds and Furies had bin let loofe from Hell upon the Land.

In short, words are not sufficient to declare, how those horrid Rebels, actuated by their bloody Priests and Jesuites, violated all Laws of God and Man, all Bonds of Charity and Human Society, and how persidious and treacherous they were; yet how true in the Observation of that Maxim of Rome, That there is no Faith to be kept with Heretics.

From hence it is now time to waft over into France, which brings up the Scene of these Tragical Relations, or rather terrible Lessons to warn all that are free from the Slavery of Rome, how they supinely suffer themselves to be reduc'd under the Oppressions of her Cruelty. Hitherto the Jesuits, Priests and Fryers have bin all for Massacre and Extirpation, the Torments and Tortures of which are but like Storms and Hurricanes, that last only for a time, from whence at length Death gives release. But the French are generally accompted a more wittie and Inventive sort of people then their Neighbours; and therefore the Virulent Popish Clergy of that Kingdom, tho no less malicious [Page] and wicked then their Brethren, would be thought more ingenious then to go the common Road of Massacre and Extirpation, finding themselves perhaps so infamous for that already. For which reason they have found out a new way to keep Men alive in their Torments; and make use of their Tortures, not so much to kill the Body, as the Soul. They find they cannot by their own Arguments convert the Protestants, and therefore they send Profligate Dragoons and vilanous Soldiers, to try what they can do by the rude Arguments of Rapine and Violence. And because they cannot find that ever Christ or his Apostles ever made use of any such means of Conversion, therefore they punish the Protestants not for their Religion, but for being Rebeland Disobedient to their Soveraign, and make their rejecting Popish trash and Ceremony to be disloyaltie.

Perfidiousness and Ingratitude generally go together; and both meeting in the Popish Clergy of France, have bin the Ruin of so many hundred thousand of French Protestants, some in their Bodies and Estates, some in Estates Bodies and Souls altogether. But it is well known, that soon after the present King of France came to the Crown, there arose a Civil War in the Kingdom so sharp and desperate, that it brought the State within a hairs breadth of Ruin. In the midst of which Troubles, those of the reformed Religion kept their Loyaltic in so inviolable a manner, and gave each proofs of their Eminent Services, that the King found himself oblig'd to give public Marks of it by a Declaration made at St. Germans, in the year 1652. So far were they from being at that time accounted Rebels or Disobedient. But the Romish Clergy of France more then Diabolically Malicious, and envying the Prosperity of the Protestants, and believing a Toleration of their Religion would be an Eclipse or Diminution of their Authority, orderd it so that their chiefest Glory, proved the principal and most essential part of their Ruin. For the Jesuits and their Party made it their business to envenome all those Impotent Services in the King, and his Ministers minds: Reasoning by the Instinct of the Devil, that if the Party of the Protestants were so considerable, that they could preserve the State, they were able as well to overthrow it, if a fair occasion should offer it self: For which reasons [Page] grounded upon Antichristian Politicks, a Resolution was taken to suppress all the Protestant Party, and to bury in Oblivion all the good Services they had done. To which purpose, in the first place, they took from them the use of their Churches, and deny'd them the benefit of Law and Justice, and overwhelm'd them with an Inundation of Criminal Processes that fastned on their Reputations, their Liberties and their Lives. The Curates and other Officers of Parishes were impower'd to enquire exactly into whatever the Reformists might have done or said for some years past, either upon the score of Religion or otherwise, and to make Information thereof before the Magistrates of the Places, who were to punish them without Remission. So that in short time, in all places, the Prisons were fill'd with these kind of Criminals, neither were false witnesses lacking; and that which was most horrible was, that tho the Judges were convinc'd that the Witnesses were all Knights of the Post; yet they maintained them and upheld them in their false Testimony. And thus the most Innocent and Virtuous persons were Condemned, some to the Gallies, others to Exilement, and public penances: And this sort of Persecution fell chiefly on the Ministers, who could never preach without having for their Spies and Observators, a Troop of Monks, Priests and Missionaries, who made no scruple to charge them with things which they never so much as thought of, and to pervert others into a contrary Sense; and these false Interpretations of the Preachers thoughts, were lookt upon by the chief Ministers of State, as evident Proofs. Then as for the Secular Protestants; Their Estates were weaken'd, and by expensive Suits in maintenance of their own Rights, which were always giv'n against them, the better sort were deprived of all Offices and Employments, both Military and Civil; and the meaner sort of all ways of Subsistance.

They rendred all Arts and Trades almost inaccessible to the Protestants, by the difficulties of arriving to the Mastership of them, and by the excessive Expences they must be at to be admitted therein, which they could not be without a Law-Suit, under the weight of which most commonly they sunk, as not being able to hold out. They were made incapable of being Magistrates of Towns or Cities, and they were so narrowly lookt [Page] after, that they were not suffer'd to be so much as Messengers, Coachmen or Waggoners, or any thing of that nature. Nay, they proceeded to that excess of Cruelty, that they would not suffer any Midwives of the Reformed Religion to do their Office; by which unheard of Methods it is not to be exprest how many particular Persons and Families were reduc'd to Ruin and Misery. And thus we see how severe the Usages shew'd to the French Protestants were, before they came to the utmost Violence. But now they come to open Force, to accomplish the Ruin of the Protestants, and Dragooners must be the Sorbon Doctors to confute them of their Errors. The manner of which was this, in all the Protestant Towns, Cities and Villages of France, the Inhabitants were assembled together, and told, That it was the King's pleasure they should immediately turn Catholics; and that if they would not do it freely, he would make them do it by Force. To which the People answer'd, That they were ready to sacrifice their Lives and Estates to the King, but their Consciences being God's, they could not in any manner dispose of them. This being the general Proposal, and the general Reply, presently the Dragoons that lay not far off were all sent for, and quarter'd in the Reformists Houses at discretion, with a strict Charge, That none should stir out of their Houses, nor conceal any of their Goods or Effects, on great Penalties. Then the first Arguments they us'd for the Conversion of the Souls committed to their Charge, was to consume all the Provisions the House afforded; then to plunder what they could find, whether Money, Rings or Jewels, and in general what ever was of value: afterwards they pilladg'd the Houses, and sold the Goods before the owners faces. Lastly, they fell upon their persons, and there is no Wickedness or Act of Horrour which they did not put in practise to force them to change their Religion. Amidst a thousand hideous cries, and a thousand Blasphemies, they hung up Women by the hair and feet on the Roof of the Chamber or Chimney Hooks, and smoakt them with wisps of wet hay, till they were no longer able to bear it; and when they Had taken them down, if they would not sign a Recantation, they hung them up in the same manner again. They threw them into great fires kindled on purpose, and never pulled [Page] them out till they were half roasted: They ty'd ropes under their Arms, and plung'd them up and down in Wells, till they promised to change their Religion. They ty'd their hands behind them, and then with a funnel pour'd Wine down their Throats so long, till being depriv'd of their reason, they consented to be Catholics. They stript Women naked, and after they had offered them a thousand Indignities, they stuck them with pins from the top to the bottom: They cut them with penknives, and sometimes with red hot pincers dragged them about the room till they promised to turn. They kept others from sleeping seven or eight days and nights together, releiving one another, to keep them waking; If they found any sick, and that kept their Beds, they had the Cruelty to beat twelve Drums together about their Ears without Intercession, for whole weeks together. They ty'd Fathers and Husbands to the Bedposts, and Ravished their Wives and Daughters before their faces. They pluckt off the Nails from the hands and toes of others: They blew up Men and Women with bellows, till they were ready to burst: Pretending to shave Mens Beards, and cut their Hair, they flead off Skin and Hair from both Parts. Where they found wine and glasses good store, they broke their glasses at every Health; and then having trod or broken the Glass very small, caused the obstinate Heretic as they call'd him, to daunce upon the broken Glass till he was able to stand no longer; then stripping him, they rowl'd him from one end of the room to the other upon sharp glass, till the Skin was stuck full of the little Fragments; and then sent for a Surgeon to cut them out of his Body.

By these Inhuman and more then Barbarous Arguments, do the wicked Crew of Jesuits and Monks in France endeavour to vanquish the most resolv'd Patiences; and by such devilish inventions as these to drive the distressed Protestants to despair, and faint-heartedness. They refuse to give them Death, which they desire, and only keep them alive to torment them.

This then being the true Spirit of Popery, so generally Reigning in all Ages and Countries where they have the power in their hands, the Inference is this, that if we have any love of our Religion, any Abhorrence of Superstition and Idolatry, any [Page] Care of our Laws or Estates, and Concernment for the Strength and Wealth of the Nation, and desire to hold the Freedom of our Consciences, the Vertue and Honour of our Families, or any care of self-preservation, to escape Massacres, and the Tormenting Rage of Persecution, it will behove us to beware how we suffer this Diabolical Sect to prevail, in whose successes we can expect no other then to forfeit all the foregoing Interests, perish our selves, and bequeath Idolatry, Slavery and Beggery to our Posterity.

FINIS.

§

§

[Page]

[Page]

The Absolute NECESSITY Of Standing by the Present Government: OR A VIEW Of what both CHURCH-MEN AND DISSENTERS, Must Expect; If by their unhappy Divisions Popery and Tyranny should Return again.

LONDON, Printed for Richard Baldwin, near the Black-Bull in the Old Bailey. MDCLXXXIX.

THE PREFACE.

[Page]

[Page]

IT is a strange thing, That after all that has been so often repeated and inculcated, concerning the Implacable and Inveterate Hatred of the Papists in general, having given up their Consciences to the Management of Priests and Jesuites, against all that make any Profession of the Protestant Religion, there should be yet a sort of People, That suffer themselves to be so far intoxicated with the Sweet Draughts of the Whore's Cup in the Revelation, that nothing can retrieve them from that Phrensical Intoxication, but that they will still be hankering after the Flesh Pots of Popish Slavery and Arbitrary Power, these People are still distempered and infected with the Monstrous Excrescencies of Arbitrary Power in one single Member, above all the Laws of the whole Infallibility, Divine Right, &c. started by Knaves and Sycophants, believed by Fools, so credulous and good-natured, as not to believe Matter of Fact; being the strongest Proof and a far better Rule to steer Mankind by, than all the empty Notions of the Schools invented, only to perplex and confound our Racionations. Once more therefore let them take a short Account of Publick Promises, Oaths and solemn Contracts so scandalously violated, not only with the Heretics, but even among themselves,

[Page] In a Word, to come to our own Home, the Plots and Conspiracies which have bin promoted by the Roman Catholicks in England, since the Reformation, are of that Nature, and have caused such dreadful Convulsions both in Church and State, that it is a great Argument of the Goodness and Providence of God, that this Kingdom has bin able to bear so many Brunts, and to avoid so many deep Designs as has brought us to the very Brink of Ruine.

Since then the Almighty, more out of the Goodness of his Providence than our own Deservings, has bin pleased by this our late Deliverance, to free us from the Treachery and Infidelity of our Antichristian Adversaries, by defeating the Hopes, and totally overthrowing the Contrivances of that restless, Implacable, and perfideous Faction; certainly they must be very impious or very Ungrateful, who instead of adoring the boundless Favour of Heaven towards them, will still be hankering after the Abominations of Rome, and seeking to close again with Idolatry. Nor must they be less stupid, who finding themselves at Liberty from Tryanny and Superstition, would be again submitting their Necks under the Yoke of Arbitrary Oppression.

Rather it would become them to pay their most thankful Acknowledgments to God in the first Place: And-in the next to the Instrument of their Happy Deliverance, and with all grateful Loyalty and Obedience, so to behave themselves toward his present Majesty, as not to disturb him by their own Froward Murmurings and Discontents, and by their own idle Heats and Animosities, in carrying on and bringing to Perfection the Great Work which he has so magnanimously and piously begun: Which till they do, they must be lookt upon no otherwise, than as such who seek their own Destruction, Troublers of Israel, that will neither be at Quiet themselves, nor suffer others to enjoy the Benefit of the Public Tranquility.

Information about this book

Title statement

The absolute necessity of standing by the present government, or, A view of what both church men and dissenters must expect if by their unhappy divisions popery and tyranny should return again

Edition statement

1689

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

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Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2006-06 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A23722

ID [STC]

Wing A112

ID [STC]

ESTC R9768

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12091152

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12091152

ID [VID]

53884

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Early English books online.

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A23722)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 53884)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 754:5)

Source

— The absolute necessity of standing by the present government, or, A view of what both church men and dissenters must expect if by their unhappy divisions popery and tyranny should return again,

Extent

[4], 47 p.

Printed for Richard Baldwin ...,. London :: 1689.. (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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