all will now blame; but it should not be forgotten, that Persons spoke,-not the language of the catholic body, but the language of his own party. The asperity, with which the work is written, must have given general offence, and prejudiced his readers against his arguments. In this, and in general effect, it yielded greatly to cardinal Allen's "De"fence of the English catholics," noticed in a former part of this work. This, while it possesses equal power of argument, with the work of father Persons, is written in a tone of christian moderation and singleness of heart which must steal on every reader, and propitiate the very sternest adversary both in favour of the writer and in favour of his cause.

It should be added, that though the pope's claim, by divine right, to the deposing power, was, at this time, very generally maintained, very few went, with Persons, the length of asserting that it was an article of faith: we shall soon see that Bellarmine stopped short of that extravagance.

XXXVI. 5.

Penal Acts of the thirty-fifth year of queen Elizabeth against the Catholics.

To the invective of father Persons, the queen published a royal reply. By the first act of the thirty-fifth year of her reign, persons obstinately refusing to attend the service of the church, or impugning the authority of the queen in ecclesiastical causes, or persuading others to do so, or assisting at

unlawful assemblies or conventions of religion, were to be committed to prison, and to remain there, till their conformity to the established church, or till they made the submission and declaration contained in the act. By this they were to acknowledge their offence to God in contemning her majesty's authority; to declare that no person had any power or authority over her; and to promise to obey in future all her laws, those in particular which prescribed attendance at the service of the church. Offenders not conforming were ordered to abjure the realm, and depart from it, as in cases of abjuration for felony; if they refused to abjure the realm, or afterwards returned to it, they were to be adjudged guilty of felony without benefit of clergy; and to forfeit to her majesty all their goods and chattels absolutely; and the income of their real estate during their lives.

Even these penalties were not thought sufficiently severe by the second act of the same year, popish recusant convicts were ordered not to remove five miles from their place of abode, and if they removed to a greater distance, they were subjected to a similar penalty; a jesuit, seminary or other massing priest, who, on his examinations before a magistrate should refuse to answer directly, whether he were a jesuit, a seminary or a massing priest, was to be committed to prison, to remain there, till answer, without bail or mainprize.

The threatened attempt of the Spanish on the English coast, did not take place till 1598: a small body of them then landed near Penzance, in Cornwall, set fire to a church, and, on the appearance of

a few English troops, retired in a hurry. "These," says Camden*, "were the only Spaniards that ever "set foot in England, as enemies."

CHAP. XXXVII.

Vol. I. c. 19. s. 5. p. 243.

ASSERTION THAT THE PRIESTS WERE EXECUTED, NOT FOR THEIR RELIGION, BUT FOR THEIR COMMISSION OF ACTS OF HIGH TREASON.

CHAP. XXXVIII.

CONTINUATION OF THE PRACTICES OF THE
SPANISH PARTY.

1601.

THE severe proceedings of the English government, which have been mentioned, did not however check the unwise and criminal activity of the favourers of the Spanish pretension.

A confidential letter, written in cypher, from father Persons, to father Holt, dated the 15th March 1597, fell into the hands of the ministers of queen Elizabeth, and added to their jealousies of the designs of the Spanish party. Persons mentions generally its contents in his Manifestationt. He informs the readers of it, that "he wished Holt to "consider it, as a note for him and such other con* Ad annum 1598. + Page 48.

"fident friends as he should think good to commu"nicate the same withal: he then states that the "principal causes of his journey (to Rome) were to "settle with his holiness, and the father general, all "such points as should seem necessary for the "upholding of the seminaries: he informs father "Holt, that about the whole matter of succession, "he meant to proceed very softly and coldly; letting his holiness only to know how matters did "stand; and that the English catholics did only "desire, (after her majesty), some sincere catholic prince, without respect of English, Scottish,

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Spanish or other nation in respect of religion; that " he was not an enemy to the king of Scotland, nor agent to king Philip, as some had informed;

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shewing, in the first, what good offices he had "done for the king of Scotland for many years, "while there was hope, that he would be a catholic: "and in the second, shewing by the nuncio of Madrid, cardinal Cajetan, (who had written

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effectually in that behalf), that he, father Per

sons, had always persuaded the king and his council, "that it would not stand well for his majesty to "pretend England for himself, and that he had "obtained of the king full promise thereof, about "which point the nuncio had seen the paper, and "been privy to the speeches, which he from time "to time had had to that effect." "These," says, father Persons, are "the words of this secret letter;" and finally he concludes his account of it by saying, "that the best of all would be, if, to avoid " contention, opposition and garboils, after her

majesty, such a person might be thought of as "would be fit, and stand well both for his holiness "and majesty catholic, the English and Scottish "catholics, the kings of France, Denmark and all "the rest, but who that person or persons be, he "meaneth his holiness to think upon.-Thus he "writeth, as you see," continues father Persons, "in great confidence and secrecy to his dearest "friend, and was to treat to the same effect, with "the pope, by the commission, as here is insinuated, "of the king of Spain himself; and his holiness "can be witness whether he did so or no, and "whether he changed his course unto this day*." His celebrated work on the Succession, which we have already noticed †, shews, that the infanta, was the personage, on whom he wished the crowns of England and Ireland to devolve :-but James was to be permitted to retain his Scottish crown.

This intrigue did not escape the penetrating eye of cardinal D'Ossat, ambassador from Henry IV. to the Roman court: much interesting information respecting it is contained in his letters ‡.

The importance of these letters is increased by the high character of the writer. He was one of

i. e. 1602, when the Manifestation, from which this extract is copied, was published.

† Ante, ch. xxxvi. s. 1.

The cardinal's letters were published at Paris, in 1698, in two volumes 4to. with notes by Amelot de la Houssaye: those, from which the substance of this chapter is taken, are in vol. i. p. 222, 399; vol. ii. p. 303, 390, 507, 509, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619.