covenants, and whatever is facred in religion, or incen

engage in the common cause, or who deferted it. The like means were used by the leaguers in France. (See before, p. 94.)

arrived in Ireland, from abroad, with fupplies, and a bull dated 16th of May, 1643, for the rebels, granting a general jubilee, and authorizing an absolution to all those engaged in the infurrection from all crimes, however enormous. Upon the Tourfday after the difcovery of the gunpowder plor, Father Hammond abfolved all the traitors, though then in open rebellion: Garnet had done the fame to Greenwell, without requiring him to declare his penitence," or deteftation of the crime. Difpenfations were fo common at that time in England, that Helot the Jefuit, and his companions, gathered the fum of 50,000l. for them. In France, even the fiends who were most active in the Bartholomew mafficres, were very readily abfolved. The Pope's legate coming to Lyons thortly after the horrid scenes there, as he came out of the great church from mass, all the chief murderers kneeled for his abfolution, and when he was told who they were, he abfolved them all by making the fign of the cro ́s. Macaulay's Hift. vol. 3. Proceed. ag. the Trait. p. 47. Bell's Pope's Funer. Clark's Martyr. etc.

The following oath was administered to the numerous confpirators in the plot in the beginning of James's reign :-"You shall swear by the blessed Tri“nity, and by the f crament you now purpose to receive, never to disclose, di“rectly nor indirectly, by word or circumstance, the matters that shall be pro“ posed to you to keep fecret; nor desist from the execution thereof; until the "reft fhall give you leave." The Irish rebels in 1642 united themselves in a body, under the ftyle of the confederate Roman Catholics of Ireland, binding themselves to the confederacy by an oath of affociation to maintain and defend the public and free exercife of the Popish religion against all persons who should oppose the same, etc. The famous French league was established and confirmed by the most folemn baths, which were impofed an all the party. These oaths were, by the factious clergy, exacted of many publicly in the churches, particu larly after the death of the duke and cardinal of Lorraine. Lincefter, of whom before, on the first day of the year 189, after fermon at St. Bartholomew, made all present to swear by lifting up their hands, that they would, to the last penny of their purse, and the laft drop of their blood, revenge the death of thef: Catho lic princes. Among others he diffinguished Harlay, firit prefident of the parliament, who was in the king's intereft, and fuppofed to be confenting to their death, calling to him repeatedly; Lift up your hand, Mr. Prefident, lift it « up high, if you please, that every one may fee it." In the end of the fame month the parliament made a remarkable declaration, in which " they promised and fwore by God, his mother, the angels, and all the faints of Paradife male and female, that they would coptinue all their lifetime in the Roman catho<lic religion, and preferve it with their lives and fortunes, even to the last drop e of their blood, and that they would avenge the death of the heads of the league upon all perfons, and hearken to ho treaty of peace without common confent," etc. This declaration they all figned with their blood. Proceed. against the Trait. Macaul. Hift. Horn, Mot. Brit. n. Rem. fur la Sat. Men.

tive and fascinating in fuperftition *, have been prostituted or employed, and often with great effect, among thofe divefted of every fentiment of religion, virtue, or humanity.

The artifices of the holy maid of Kent, and her affociates, to excite fedition in the beginning of the reformation in England, are well known. The pretended ecftafies, and foolish prophetic vifions of that convulfionary, under the management of monks and difaffected statefinen, were artfully improved to decry the reformers, Luther, and the Bible itfelf, and to inflame the minds of the fuperftitious against the king and the new meafures of government for which the was venerated, both before and face her death, as a prophetess, by many Catholics. Soon after, in the fame reign, appeared an army of rebels to the amount of 40,000, under Afk, and James Diamond called the earl of poverty, for the restoration of the good old caufe. They termed their rebellious march the pilgrimage of grace, and had on their banners and their fleeves the five wounds of Chrift. They entered into an oath to re-establish the church in her rights, to fuppre's herefy and heretics, etc. After they were fuppreffed, befides other ecclefiaftics who were the chief incendiaries, four abbots, two priors, three monks, feven priefs, were put to death, with Dr. Mackrel, prior of Barlings, who, a little before, had headed another rabble of 20,000 in Lincolnshire, in the difguife of a cobler.

*;

Another fuch gracious pilgrimage was fet on foot in Devonshire in Ed. ward VI.'s time, in which they carried the confecrated hoft, borne under a ca nopy before them, with croffs, banners, candlesticks, and other holy trumpery; which, though powerful enough to feduce the blind zealots to the field, yet were not sufficient to preferve them from defeat. After they were quelled, the vicar of St. Thomas was hanged on the top of his own tower, in all the pomp of his canonical equipage, with his beads at his girdle. This was immediately followed by another in the fame tafte, and on nearly the fame pretexts, under the conduct of Ket the tanner, who took up his refidence, like an ancient druid, in the oak of reformation, from which he uttered his oracles and laws.

In the reign of Elifabeth, the rebels under the earls of Northumberland and Wftmoreland difplayed for their enfigns the cross, and five wounds of Chrifl. In their holy pilgrimage fouthward, they tore English Bibles, and trampled them under their feet, as at Durham; at Darlington they befprinkled the army with holy water, and at Rippon heard mass to forward their treason, Morton the priest carried the banner, with fore of bulls of abfolution to fuch as would renounce the heretic, and take the oath of allegiance to the man with the triple crown. The Pope's bleed banners have, in like manner, been difplayed, at different times, in Ireland; and in the beginning of James's reign, Don John D'Aquila arrived there with the title of General of the Catholic king in God's war, for maintaining the faith in Ireland.

D'Aubignè relates, that "foon after the conference of Poiffy, an armed " troop of leaguers appeared in Provence, with a Cordelier at their head carry(6 ing

1

1

ty. Nay, farther, that the fons of Rome might not stop till they had put the cope-ftone upon their treasons, the duty of affaffinating fuch princes, or killing them by any means, especially after a fentence, paffed against them, has not only been taught †, and vehemently preached

"ing a crucifix before them. They defeated, for their first exploit, at Brignoles "a company who appeared for the king: after that they took for enfign in "their colours the keys of the Pope, and every one of them began to wear a "chaplet about his neck. One of them made his own fifter to be forced in his "prefence, because she would not go to mafs." Their religious fury rose afterwards to fuch a height, that they had recourfe to the rites of magic for the deftruction of the king. They made images of wax, and placed them on the altars, and, in their folemn devotions, pricked and stabbed them to the heart. They also carried in their proceffions certain candles, which they extinguished with certain magical ceremonies, etc, as the journal of the king gives an account: Furent faites à Paris force images de cire, qu'ils tenoient fur les autels, et les picquoient à chacune des quarante messes, qu'ils faifoient dire durant les quarante beures en plufieurs paroiffes de Paris, et à la quarantieme picquoient l'image à Fendroit du cœur, difant à chaque picqueure quelques paroles de magie pour effayer à faire mourir le roy. Aux proceffions pareillement, et pour le meme effect ils portoient certains cierges magiques qu'ils appelloient par mocquerie, cierges benits, qu'ils faifoient eteindre aux lieux, ou ils alloient renversant la lumiere contrebas, difant je ne fçai quelles parolles, que les forciers leur avoient appris. Hift. of Engl. D'Aubig. Hift. univ. tome i. 1, ii. eh, 26. Journ, de Hen III. p.121.

One who appears to have been a Roman Catholic himself thus defcribes the irreligion and profligacy of those of the holy league, where was ever more

facrilege, more rapes, blafphemies against God, derifion of the holy facra. "ments and ordinances of the Catholic church, than in the cities and countries

of the league among their troops ?-To show how little regard they have for religion, they have obliged priests, with the poinard at their breast, to baptize calves, fheep, lambs, cocks, hens, chickens, and birds, and to give them "the names of pikes, carps, etc. This has been done not once, nor in one place only, nor by one troop. Of what wickedness may not fuch monsters, "after this, be fuppofed capable? Violation of women and maids of all ages, facrilegious fpoiling of altars, pafs among them for fport; these are with them gallantry and bravery, and an effential mark of. a good leaguer.""To rob his neighbour, to tax and opprefs Catholics, to murder his father, uncle, or coufin, to profane churches and altars, is the ordinary employment of a leaguer. To have the mafs and religion always in the mouth, and atheifm in the heart, and in actions; in a word, to violate all laws divine and human, is the infallible mark and true character of a Catholic zealot." Confeil falutaire d'un bon Franc. aux Parifiens, etc. Mem. de la Ligue, tome iii. p. 399. Sat. Men. tome iii. p. 322, 323, 335.

That this is taught by Jefuits we have already feen, (p. 113). Nor is it

ed, but the villainy has been too often confcientiouЛly perpetrated,

their doctrine alone, but as D'Alembert juftly remarks, it hath been that of all the other orders, and of alm ft all the ecclefiaftics of the church of Rome in past times.—And no wonder, seeing it natively arises from other doctrines univerfally received and established by that church. It is but a neceflary confe quence of the Catholic doctrines of excommunication, and dethroning of princes; and more particularly of the principles about the defert and punishment of herefy. For if any private person hereby forfeits his life, and may lawfully be put to death wherever he is found, much more one in public authority: and as it may not be poffible to have the ftatute of burning put in execution against kim in due form, it will follow that he may be punished in any manner practicable. -By a decree of Urban II. in the canons it is no murder to kill an excommunicated perfon; the words of this remarkable canon are, non eos homicidas arbitramur, quos adverfus excommunicatos zelo catholice matris ardentes, aliquos eorum trucidasse çontigerit. "We account them not to be murderers who "in the ardour of their zeal for our mother the Catholic church against thofe "that are excommunicated, fhall happen to kill any of them."-Cardinal Tolet lays down this maxim, "that to kill a king that is depofed is not to kill à “king but a private perfon." And Bellarmine declares that," it belongs to "the Pope to abfolve the fubjects of princes from their oaths of fidelity, and "when needful, to deprive them of their regal authority, but as for the execu "tion it belongeth to others."-Thefe wholefume principles are a little more explicitely explained by the Jefuit Suarez in his Defence of the Catholic Faith, in which he fays, that "a heretical king after fentence given against him, is *abfola ely deprived of his kingdom, fo that he cannot poffefs it by any juft " title, but becomes a tyrant; and therefore from thenceforth may be treated "altogether as a tyrant, and confequently he may be killed by any private per"fon. If the Pope depofe a king, he may be expelled or killed only by them to whom he fhall commit that bufinefs: but if he enjoin the execution of it

exprefly to no body, then it shall belong to the lawful (Catholic) fucceffor in "the kingdom; or if none fuch can be found, it shall belong to the kingdom "itfelf." Th. Mor. tr. x. ex. 7. c. 3. Can. Excommun. cauf. 23. qu. 5. c. 4. Tolet. Inftr. facerd. 1. 4. c. 48. Bellarm、 con. Barcl. l. 7. F. Suar. Def, fid. cath. l. 6. c. 4. § 14. Ejc.

that a

On this fubject we may once more hear Efcobar, who maintains man profcribed and out-lawed by a temporal prince may not be killed out of "his territories but he who is profcribed by the Pope may be killed in any "part of the world, becaufe his jurifdiction extends over all."-Several other books and tracts, besides those already mentioned, have been exprefly written in behalf of the king-killing doctrine, not without pernicious fruits; as Allen's book against the justice of Britain; Bucher's de jufta Henrici III. abdicatione, &c.

This was a common topic with the preachers of the French league, both before and after the death of Henry III. Lincefter, upon Good-Friday, faid, to

one

perpetrated*, and more often attempted + in confequence

of

one who scrupled to communicate at Eafter, because of the revenge which he harboured in his heart against Henry of Valois, that he was very easily dif "concerted, and made conscience of nothing, seeing all thofe who daily confe"crated the body of our Lord in the mafs, and himself among the foremost, "made no manner of fcruple of killing him, even though he were at the altar holding in his hand the precious body of the Lord." As foon as the news of the king's affaffination was known in Paris the council of the fixteen fent an order to all the preachers to treat of three points expreffed in a billet, which were; the incapacity of the king of Navarre,-the excommunication of all those who adhered to him ;-and the other to justify the deed of James Clement as equalling that of Judith with refpect to Holophernes; Qui enim eccle fiam non audit, debet effe tanquam Ethnicus et Holophernes. This mandate was foon punctually obeyed, by Rofe, Boucher, and others. Bourgoing, prior of the Jacobins for vindicating this deed-in his fermons, and for being an accomplice in the murder, was condemned and executed at Tours. The Jefuit Commelet preaching at St. Bartholemew in 1593, from the history of the 3d ch. of Judges, after he had extolled Clement and placed him among the angels, went on "We want an Ehud, we want an Ehud, were he a monk, or a foldier, or "foldier's boy, or a fhepherd, no matter what, but we must have another "Ehud. Nothing is wanting but that blow to put our affairs in the state which we defire to have them." Journ. de Hen. III. p. 123. Maimb. Hift. de la lig. t. 3. Cayet, Chronol. Novem. 1. 6.

The affaffination of heretical princes, though held both lawful and meritorious, yet can feldom be performed without great danger to the perpetrator, otherwise more princes had perished by the piftols, daggers, or bowls of principled murderers. But fome daring and difinterested heroes of Catholicifm have appeared at different times, in different countries, who have reduced the maxims into practice fometimes with fatal faccefs. One great prince of Conde fell in this bafe manner by the hands of an affaffin, and another was poifoned by one of his domeftics.- -The illuftrious prince of Orange, the founder and protector of the religious and civil liberties of his country, though he furvived the wounds he received from Joanville in 1582, was within two years after cut off by Baltazar Gerard, who shot him through the heart, when rifing from his own table, and was furrounded by an army of 50,000 men, at the head of which he bade defiance to all the power of Spain. The aflaffin at his execution would make no other confeffion, than that what he had done was by divine infpiration, and that he had been made to hope for the crown of the martyr in heaven as his reward. Strada fays, the fpectators greatly admired the conftancy and courage of that young man.

But above all Clement and Ravaillac who murdered the two Henrys ftand diftinguished in this lift; men who eminently burned with that zeal of which the canon of Pope Urban fpeaks, and who put their lives in their hand, and even rushed on certain death to avenge the quarrel of their Catholic mo

thet.