know any thing directly or indirectly of any fuch Plot, 'till publick Fame had fpread it over the Country between Michaelmas and All-Saints Day laft: This is true, as God fhall judge and fave my Soul; neither was there any Guilt of any fuch black Crime found in me by Mr. Qates, Mr. Bedloe, Mr. Dugdale, and Mr. Prance, when by them I was ftrictly examin'd on that Point, laft May, in Newgate, London; nay, had I had the least Knowledge or Hint of fuch Plot, I had been as zealously nimble in the Discovery of it, as any the moft loyal Subje&t his Majefty hath in his Three Kingdoms; wherefore, when I am dead and gone, if fome Malevolent give out, I lofe my Life for plotting, by Charity ftrive to difingage him of his Miftake; do that Right to my dead Ashes.

I was never taught that Doctrine of King-killing, from my Soul I deteft and abhor it as execrable, and directly oppofite to the Principles of the Religion I profefs; what that is, you fhall know by-and-by; it being the pofitive Definition of the Council of Conftance, That it is damnable for any Subject, or private Perfon, or any Subjects in Council joined, to murder his or their lawful King or Prince, or ufe any publick or clandeftine Confpiration against him, tho' the faid King or Prince were a Turk, Apoftate, Perfecutor, yea, or a Tyrant in Government: Never tell me of Clement the Murderer of Henry the Third of France; never tell me of Ravilliac, Murderer of Henry the Fourth of France; they did fo, but wickedly they did fo, and for it they were punish'd to Severity, as Malefactors; and for it, to this very Day, are ftigmatiz'd by all Roman Catholicks for very Mifcreants and Villains. I hope you will not charge the whole Roman Catholick Body with the Villanies of fome few Desperadoes: By that Rule all Christianity must be anfwerable for the Treafon of

Judas;

Judas; for my part, I always lov'd my King, 1 always honour'd his Person, and I daily pray'dfor his Profperity; and now, with all unfeign'd Cordiality, I fay it, God bless my gracious King and lawful Prince, Charles II, King of England, and Prince of Wales, God blefs him temporally and eternally, God preferve him from all his real Enemies, God direct him in all his Councils, that may tend to the greater Glory of the fame great God; and whatever late Plot hath been, or is, the Father of Lights bring it to Light, the Contrivers of it, and the Actors in it, that fuch may be brought to their condign Punishment, and Innocence preferved.

But why again this untimely Death? My Religion is the Roman Catholick Religion, in it I have liv'd above thefe forty Years, in it I now die, and fo fixedly die, that if all the good things in this World were offered me to renounce it, all fhould not move me one Hair's Breadth from my Roman Catholick Faith; a Roman Catholick I am, a Roman Catholick Prieft I am, a Roman Catholick Priest of that religious Order call'd The Society of Jefus I am; and I blefs God who firft call'd me; and I blefs the Hour in which I was firft call'd both unto Faith and Function.

Please now to obferve, I was condemn'd for reading Mass, hearing Confeffions, adminiftring the Sacraments, anointing the Sick, Chriftning, Marrying, Preaching: As for reading the Mafs, it was the old, and ftill is, the accustomed and laudable Liturgy of the Holy Church; and all the other Acts, which are Acts of Religion, tending to the Worfhip of God; and for this dying, I die for Religion: Moreover know, that when laft May I was in London, under Examination concerning the Plot, a prime Examinant told me, that to fave my Life and increase my Fortunes,

I must make fome Discovery of the Plot, or con→ form; difcover Plot I could not, for I knew of none; conform I would not, because it was against my Confcience; then by Confequence I muft die, and fo now dying, I die for Confcience and Religion; and dying upon fuch good Scores, as far as humane Frailty permits, I die with Alacrity interior and exterior; from the abundance of the Heart, let not only Mouths, but Faces alfo fpeak.

Here, methinks, I feel Flefh and Blood ready to burst into loud Cries, Tooth for Tooth, Eye for Eye, Blood for Blood, Life for Life; No, cryeth holy Gofpel, Forgive and you shall be forgiven; pray for thofe that perfecute you; love your Enemies; and I profefs myfelf a Child of the Gofpel, and the Gofpel I obey.

Whomever, prefent or abfent, I have ever offended, I humbly defire them to forgive me; as for my Enemies, had I as many Hearts as I have Fingers, with all thofe Hearts would I forgive my Enemies, at leaftwife, with all that fingle Heart I have, I freely forgive them all, my Neighbours that betray'd me, the Perfons that took me, the Juftices that committed me, the Witneffes that prov'd against me, the Jury that found me, the Judge that condemn'd me, and others whoever, that out of Malice or Zeal, covertly or openly, have been contributive to my Condemnation; but fingularly and efpecially, I forgive my capital Perfecutor, who hath been fo long thirsting after my Blood; from my Soul I forgive him, and with his Soul fo well, that were it in my Power, I would feat him a Seraphin in Heaven, and I pray for them in the Language of glorious St. Stephen the Protomartyr; Lord, lay not this Sin unto them; or better yet, in the Stile of our great Master, Christ himself, Father forgive them, they know not what they do.

And

And with Reafon I love them alfo; for though they have done themselves a vaft Soul-prejudice, yet they have done me an incomparable Favour, which I fhall eternally acknowledge; but chiefly I love them for his fake, who faid, Love your Enemies; and in Teftimony of my Love, I with them, and it is the best of Wishes, from the Center of my Soul, I wish them a good Eternity. O Eternity, Eternity! How momentanean are the Glories, Riches, and Pleafures of this World? and how defirable art thou, endless Eternity?

And for my faid Enemies attaining thereunto, I humbly befeech God to give them the Grace of true Repentance, before they and this World part.

Next to my Enemies, give me leave to lift up my Eyes, Hands, and Heart to Heaven, and drop fome few Words of Advice unto, and for my Friends, as well thofe present as abfent. Friends, Fear God, Honour your King, be firm in your Faith, avoid mortal Sin, by frequenting the Sacraments of holy Church, patiently bear your Perfecutions and Afflictions, forgive your Enemies, your Sufferings are great; I fay, be firm in your Faith to the End, yea, even to Death, then fhall ye heap unto yourselves cœleftial Treasures in the heavenly Jerufalem, where no Thief robbeth, no Moth eateth, and no Ruft confumeth; and have that bleffed Saying of the bleffed St. Peter, Prince of the Apoftles, always in your Memory, which I heartily recommend unto you, viz. Let none of you fuffer as a Murderer or a Thief, but if as a Chriftian let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in his Name.

Now it is high time I make my Addresses to Heaven, and fupplicate the Divine Goodness in my own Behalf, by fome few fhort and cordial Ejaculations of Prayers.

His Prayers being ended he was turn'd off.

The

The Execution of the Lord Viscount STAFFORD the 29th Day of December, 1680.

WH

HEN the Hour appointed for his Death drew near, he expected, with fome Impatience, the Arrival of Mr. Lieutenant, telling his Friends that were about him, he ought not to haften his own Death, yet he thought the time long till they came for him. A Gentleman then with him in his Chamber, put him in mind that it was a cold Day, and that his Lordship would do well to put on a Cloak or Coat to keep him warm; he anfwer'd he would; for (faid he) Imay, perhaps, fhake for Cold, but I truft in God, never for Fear. After fome time spent in fpiritual Difcourfes; at length, about ten a Clock, Word was brought him, that Mr. Lieutenant waited for him below, upon which he fweetly faluted his Friends, bidding them not grieve for him, for this was the happieft Day of all his Life; then he immediately went down, and walk'd along by the Lieutenant's Chair (who had the Gout) through a Lane of Soldiers, to the Bars without the Tower. There the Lieutenant deliver'd him to the Sheriffs, and they from thence guarded him' to the Scaffold erected on Tower-hill. All the way. as he paffed, feveral thousands of People crowded to fee him; many civilly faluted him; and few there were, amongst that vaft Number, whose Hearts were not touch'd and mollify'd with Compaffion for him. Having mounted the Scaffold, there appear'd in his Countenance fuch an unusual Vivacity, fuch a Chearfulness, fuch a Confidence, fuch a Candor, as if the Innocence of his Soul had fhined through his Body. Nothing of that mortal Palenefs, nothing of thofe Reluctances, Convulfions, and Agonies, incident to Perfons in

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