esteeming the preaching of God's word the highest dignity, he preached constantly in one and another church in his diocese every Lord's Day. He died on the 29th or 30th of March, 1621.

On November 11 we meet with the following notice of Bishop Andrewes in a letter from John Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton:

"I thank you for your remonstrance of the French clergy, which will give me occasion perhaps to visit the good Bishop of Chichester, though I doubt he be not at leisure for any bye-matters, the King doth so hasten and spur him on in this business of Bellarmin's, which he were likely to perform very well (as I hear by them that can judge) if he might take his own time, and not be troubled nor entangled with arguments obtruded to him continually by the King, who is somewhat pleased with a late accident fallen into Scotland, where one Sprott, being to be executed for some other matter, confessed somewhat touching Gowry's conspiracy that makes it hang more handsomely together." Of Sprott and his confessions, and of the Gowrie conspiracy, the reader may obtain sufficient information and impartially conveyed in the 40th chapter of Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, vol. ii., 1830.1

Of our prelate's Tortura Torti mention is also made in a letter from Dudley Carleton, Esq., to Sir Thomas Edmunds, London, June 8th, 1609: "The Bishop of Chichester's book is now in the press, whereof I have seen part, and it is a worthy work; only the brevity breeds obscurity, and puts the reader to some of that pains which was taken by the writer. Dr. Morton comes after with a large volume; and Sir Edward Hoby (who by the way is a sad mourner for his mother) comes in like an entremets with a work of his dedicated to the relapsed ladies; so as Paul's churchyard is like to be well furnished."

1 See also Criminal Trials before the High Court of Justiciary, ii. 146—332, 4to. Edinb. 1830.

CHAPTER IX.

Plots of the Papists against King James-The King treats them favourably-Duplicity of Pope Clement VIII.-Watson's conspiracy-The Gunpowder Plot-Grounded on the Pope's BrevesThe plot referred to the Pope for his opinion—Garnet fearful lest he should encourage recourse to arms-Greenwell and HallGarnet-Lingard's plea for Garnet-Concealment of sins not yet perpetrated formerly not allowed under the plea of confessionMartin del Rio-Abstraction of documents from the State Paper Office-Abbot's Antilogia-Not the Jesuits alone to be blamedOath of allegiance-The King's Premonition to Christian Princes and States-His Confession of Faith-His dissertation on Antichrist.

BEFORE the accession of King James' in 1603, Pope Clement VIII. had put Garnet, the superior or head of the English Jesuits, in possession of epistles or breves directing the

1 In 1594 the Jesuit Parsons, "a subtle and lying Jesuit" (to use the words of Hallam in his Constitutional History of England), "published under the name of Doleman a treatise entitled Conference about the next Succession to the Crown of England. It is written, says Mr. Hallam, "with much art to shew the extreme uncertainty of the succession, and to perplex men's minds by multiplying the number of competitors. This, however, is but the second part of his Conference, the aim of the first being to prove the right of commonwealths to depose sovereigns, much more to exclude the right heir especially for want of true religion. He pretends to have found very few who favoured the King of Scots' title, an assertion by which we may appreciate his veracity." “Mr. Butler," observes this writer, "is too favourably inclined towards a man without patriotism or veracity."-Constit. Hist. 3rd ed. vol. i. p. 389. King Philip II. secretly aimed at bringing in the Infanta; Pope Clement VIII. and the English Roman Catholic gentry were for Arabella Stuart, daughter of the Earl of Lennox.

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Roman Catholics to prevent the accession of James, or of any but a Roman Catholic, whenever the demise of Queen Elizabeth should occur. The Romish historian, Dr. Lingard, himself acknowledges that Garnet had these breves; that in 1602 Thomas Winter, afterwards one of the Gunpowder conspirators, had arranged with the ministers of Philip III., King of Spain, a plan for the invasion of England,' that the death of Elizabeth disconcerted the project, and that "Garnet had thought it prudent to burn the breves in favour of a Catholic successor. Thus did the court of Rome and the Jesuits plot against James even previously to his accession, but opportunities did not favour their schemes, and so they did what they could to conceal them. Dr. Lingard says that the Catholics (or, as they are more appropriately designated, Romanists) almost unanimously supported the right of James; and, but for their religion, their loyalty probably would have been unanimous; and Dr. Lingard admits that the King felt inclined to grant them some partial indulgence. The open toleration of their religion the country would not have endured. Thousands were still alive who remembered that reign of horror which some of their degenerate posterity have taken such pains to bury in oblivion. The nation was imbued with too deep a spirit of unfeigned attachment to the great truths of Christianity itself, to look upon Romanism with the lukewarmness of the present age. It was therefore boldly impolitic in the King to shew them so much regard as he is acknowledged to have done. He invited them to frequent his court; he conferred on several the honour of knighthood; and he promised to shield them from the penalties of recusancy, so long as by their loyal and peaceable demeanour they should deserve the royal favour. This benefit, though it fell short of their expectations, they ac

1 See of this plot, Criminal Trials, vol. ii. pp. 138-140. Lond. Chas. Knight, 22, Ludgate Street, 1835. This work sanctions, though not the Gunpowder Plot, yet the insurrections of the Romanists of those times. "The political situation of the Catholics, &c., were sufficient motives to insurrection."-Criminal Trials, Gunpowder Plot, vol. ii. p. 185.

2 Dr. Lingard's History of England, vol ix. p. 8, 4th ed.

cepted with gratitude.' By most it was cherished as a pledge of subsequent and more valuable concessions; and the Pontiff Clement VIII., now that Elizabeth was no more, determined to cultivate the friendship of the new King. Thus Dr. Lingard would, as it were, introduce his reader to Pope Clement VIII.; but it is well inserted, "now that Elizabeth was no more," for had her life been spared, the Pope's breves in the hands of Garnet were to have operated to the deprivation of King James of his right. Dr. Lingard gravely informs his reader that the Pope also sent strict commands in two breves directed to the arch-priest and the provincial of the Jesuits, to the intent that the missionaries (for this is the name given by the Romish Church to her clergy in this most benighted kingdom) should confine themselves to their spiritual duties, and discourage every attempt to disturb the public tranquillity. These breves he should have sent earlier, for he knew full well that his missionaries were used to such plots and conspiracies as those which had so often endangered the life of Elizabeth. These breves too were sent to Garnet, the same to whom had been entrusted those treasonable breves to keep James out of the throne of this kingdom.

Already one plot had been discovered in which two priests were engaged, one of whom confessed that the Jesuits who betrayed him, and that when he and they were in a state of mutual hostility, had first led him into the crime. The priest Watson,' at the gallows, alluding to the former disputes

1 Accordingly "the fines for recusancy were actually remitted for the first two years of James's reign."-Criminal Trials, vol. ii. p. 19. London, 1835. (Charles Knight, Ludgate Street.) The King's accession was on March 25, 1603; the Powder Plot was conceived at least by Lent 1604. So much for the gratitude of the Romish party, and the usual palliations of heavy fines for recusancy. See Lingard's History, ix. p. 32, note. He would lead his readers to imagine that no such leniency was shewn. Under 1604 he inveighs against the enforcement of the fines for recusancy in the body of his history, whilst in the notes he passes over that year in silence. "From the Book of Free Gifts I find that James gave out of the goods of recusants, in his first year, £150 to Sir Richard Parson; in his third (1605), £3,000 to John Gibb." Of 1604 nothing is said, yet more than enough in the text.

2 "Watson the priest devised oaths in writing, by which the parties were bound to conceal their treasons."-Stow's Chronicle, Reign of James I. p. 829,

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between himself and the Jesuits, said, "he forgave and desired to be forgiven of all, namely, that the Jesuits would forgive him if he had written over-eagerly against them; saying also that it was occasioned by them, whom he forgave, if they had cunningly and covertly drawn him into the action for which he suffered. Watson himself had his accomplices, of whom it is not clear that all were brought to justice. So did Romanism attempt to overturn the government when the King had been scarcely three months upon his throne.

Thus rendered insecure by those who turned religion into rebellion, and faith into faction, his person and kingdom were guarded in his first Parliament by additional fences to protect our country against the insidious policy of Rome. Fresh cautions were framed against the missionary-priests, and legal disabilities were attached to those who studied in the foreign universities.2

The second plot was that of 1605, which the reader may find palliated in Dr. Lingard's History, who is followed to some extent by the anonymous continuator of Sir James Mackintosh's History of England.

On May 1, 1604, the five Gunpowder conspirators, Robert Catesby, Thomas Winter, Thomas Percy, a distant relation and steward to the Duke of Northumberland, John Wright, and Guido Fawkes, after having sworn each other to secresy, received the host at the hands of John Gerard a Jesuit. The only two who survived (for Catesby, Percy, and Wright were slain resisting their pursuers) declared that Gerard had no continued by Edmund Howes, gent. Very probably the oath of secresy in the Gunpowder Plot was made by the Jesuit priest after this precedent.

1 Ibid. p. 831. Watson and Clarke confessed that when they communicated their counsels to the Jesuits then living in England, and desired them to be partakers with them in so noble an enterprise, they received this answer, that the Jesuits could not join them, forasmuch as they had a business of their own in hand which should be famous to all ages, and which, in due time, would take effect. “Ut qui suam quoque ipsi parilem telam orsi, memorabilem in ævum texturam pararent, tempore opportuno exitum habituram."-Casauboni Ep. ad Frontonem Ducæum, Ep. 7, Julii 1611, p. 188, ap. Discourse of the Powder Plot, p. 14. Lond. 1674.

2 p. 28.

3 See Lathbury's History of the Gunpowder Treason. Lond. 1839,

p. 51.