ing is this; they send out process to serve upon any catholic whom they will have to appear. The messenger, if he cannot find the party, doth either fix the process upon the gentleman's door, or give it to the curate, to be read against the party publicly, upon the Sunday, in the church. If the party do appear, it is rare if he do escape the tendering of the oath: if he do not appear, they set a fine upon his head of some fifty pounds, to some a hundred pounds, for every time they do not appear. These fines are presently certified into the exchequer, from which a writ is granted, to seize upon the party's lands or goods, to the value of the sum with which he is fixed. Upon this, are sent out officers to the gentleman's land, to take what goods soever they find upon it; not respecting whose goods they be, whether the gentleman's own, or his tenant's, or some other person's; nor in whose immediate hand and use the land is, whether in the lord's or in the tenant's it suffices them that it is the gentleman's land. Here they will take, for a fine of a hundred pounds, goods worth two hundred pounds, and cause them to be prized and sold at the next town, at the half [their] worth: neither dare the gentleman appear, neither to rescue his goods, or to make his complaint when he is wronged; yea, often all is done, before any notice of it can come unto him. Thus they continued,

all persons which have, or shall refuse to have, his or their child or children baptised, or which have or shall administer, or procure, or willingly suffer the sacrament of baptism to be administered by any jesuit, seminary, or other popish priest, or which have or shall celebrate the mass, or procure the same to be celebrated, or willingly hear or be present at the same." It further empowers the commissioners to seize all books written against the established religion, and to commit their authors, publishers, and dispersers to safe custody; to imprison all jesuits, priests, and recusants, and all persons sending money or children to the foreign seminaries; to seize the money or children so attempted to be conveyed out of the country, and "all massing-stuff, relics, and other like superstitious things"; to arrest all persons accused or suspected of violating the laws against recusants; to require bonds for their personal appearance, from time to time, before the court; and, in the event of their refusing the bonds, or neglecting to appear, to apprehend and commit them to prison, there to remain at the discretion of the commissioners, or until they shall enter into such bond or recognizance as is aforesaid."-A similar commission, in the same words, but addressed to different persons, was issued for the province of Canterbury. Rymer, xvii. 200-212.-T.]

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for the last four or five years past, fining monthly for not appearing, and so consequently driving goods for fines. By this, many have been brought to that case, that they neither durst keep stock upon their own ground, nor yet could let it out to others. Some have been forced to fly the country, and live in another shire, without the limits of this commission: some have had their goods driven again and again, and that without all order of law, or show of right, only by the mere villainy of the officers; for which, if they sued to have them again, they might, but with such a charge, that they had as good [have] lost the goods themselves.'

Of these, among the rest, I knew five or six yeomen, who were forced to fly the country, and to live in Lincolnshire, having almost nothing left before they went: and, among divers gentlemen, two knights, the father and the son, sir Ralph and William Babthorpe, at the length were forced to fly, both themselves and their

[Nor were these proceedings confined to the north. Addressing his cousin, Geoffrey Pole, and speaking of what was passing in Sussex and Hampshire, Benjamin Norton says,—“ I have little to write of, but that I purpose, while I live and am at liberty, which cannot be long, to write to you as oft as I can. I would not have written yet this week, at the least, but so it is that I may now well fear that every letter will be my last; and therefore take this one as my last, unless things fall out better than I expect. * * * All your poor friends, near and about us, live as yet, daily expecting such hazards and miseries, as would make a christian's heart even bleed, to think of them. In the beginning of this month, the catholics of our parish were summoned to appear at the shire town; and, forasmuch as they feared that the oath would be tendered unto them, they appeared not, and straight, upon that contempt, they were excommunicated in the church, and the names of above three score, in the parish where I live, were set upon the church doors; amongst which, your two sisters, with their cousins and company, were the first. The knaves, that went then away out of the country, have, since that time, renewed their commission, and are to come shortly down again. * * * In Hampshire, they (the catholics) are warned to appear, and it is generally thought that the oath shall be generally offered through all England; and all that refuse it shall be utterly undone." In another part he adds,-"The book which you sent was like to have been taken on Sunday last, in a search at London, where there were six priests taken in secret places in one house, which was sometimes called Montague House; and, for name's sake, it is more than much feared that the lord Montague will be called in question for the last night, news came to that purpose. Your cousin Richard was taken at Matthew Woodward's that morning, and paid sweetly for it. Matthew and his wife, although nothing was found in their house, are committed to the Clink and the prisons are full; neither will they be able to hold many more, unless some priests be executed, which is generally expected." Nov. 22, 1610. MS. in my possession.-T.]

families. First, the son, sir William Babthorpe, was fined some four or five hundred pounds, for not appearing and because they could get none of his goods, because all went under his father's name, they so pursued his person, that he was glad to live in Lincolnshire, and there remained, for two or three years. The father, sir Ralph (being a gentleman, not only so well beloved in his country, for his bountiful and good disposition, that he had not so much as one enemy to oppose against him, but being also a gentleman of a very ancient house, nigh allied in consanguinity to the earls of Shrewsbury and Rutland, and whose father had been the only potent man for credit and authority in those countries), was so sore pursued by the base ministers of this high commission (who, every month, sent out process in most disgraceful and odious terms against him, to be publicly read in his own parish church, and, after reading, to be fixed upon the church doors), that, after he had, for the space of a twelvemonth, escaped the fines by this art, to wit, by flying out of the country, from the day of the writ read in the church (of which by friends he got notice before), until the court-day was past (at which court-day, he had one remedy to take his oath that he was not in the country, as indeed he was not, from the day of the writ read until that present court-day, and so could not be fined),—after, I say, that, by this art, he had escaped, a year and more, being at the length wearied with it, he was forced to remove his whole family into Lincolnshire, and there to live and all this he suffered, after that he had paid two parts of his living to the king, and compounded for it. His son-in-law also, sir George Palms, one of as ancient a house, and as well allied in affinity, as any gentleman in the country, did at the first lie in prison, and, after being upon bond released, and afterwards urged to return again to prison, was forced to forfeit and pay his bond, and, to keep himself from them, to live privately, so that, for the space of three years, he durst not be seen in his father's house, or be known to be there; for, because he had no goods, his father

alive and no catholic, they sought only for his person, to imprison him. These be, among many, some examples of the practice of this high commission,-which is but the two means they have, to punish poor catholics withal.'

The third is the sheriff and his officers, who, upon the least occasion, if they find the least thing against any catholic, are ready to arrest their persons, to drive away their goods, and to use all disgrace they can against them. Of these, among many, we had an example of an old gentleman, who, for his ancient family, was counted the chief of the country; his ancestors, together with the Percies, having been the builders of York minster, and himself the only great and bountiful housekeeper of the north,- Mr. Vavasour, the chief of that name, who is now of late dead, God

* *

[Lady Blount, in her account of her own sufferings, has left us another illustration of the cruelties arising out of these proceedings. Amongst other things, she says, in a paper written in March, 1613,-" Abandoned of my husband, and he busy to procure my fetters, *day and night I was constrained to wander for my own safety, till charity, compassionate of my afflicted estate, received me until the brunt of the sessions was past: for my house being beset day and night with a strict watch, to apprehend me, as if I had been a capital offender, and other scandalous rumours suddenly spread, abashed my friends how to receive me, and made myself very cautious where to take in. "Having thus far travelled this perplexed path, I retired myself to London, to mine own house; supposing to refresh myself with some small rest: where falling sick, and malice never having end, upon a fresh pursuit, by the council's warrant, I was attached in my own house, then being sick; at which time, but that I had a friend present, ready to undertake for me, and did presently engage himself for my appearance, I should have sustained their merciless usage, I know, not without great danger to my life: for, shortly after, by these pressures and troubles (for I can impute it to nothing else), I miscarried of my child, and might then, if God had so pleased, have ended this misery with my own life.

"But further to augment my troubles and exasperate my griefs, my confinement to this place hath been so long (my friend standing gaged for my appearance, which I have hitherto attended, and nothing objected against me), nor friend, nor means can procure my dismission (with tender of as sufficient security, as can be required, for my appearance upon reasonable monition, notwithstanding the manifestation of my allegiance), without conformity; my husband, impatient of our division, abridging my means of necessary expenses; myself perplext and troubled, with incurring his displeasure and separating myself from him, my children, and family, so overwhelm my thoughts with contrary resolutions, as I know not of whom to crave advice; but, in this labyrinth of afflictions, commit myself to the providence of God, expecting the As it pleaseth his divine will, so be it. Amen." Original in my pos

event.

session.-T.]

rest his soul! This gentleman being sent for at the assises, to appear before the judge, and, by reason of his age and weakness, alleging not ability, was sent for by the sheriff, with command to take him by force, and to bring him to the judge. The under-sheriff came, with a multitude of men, partly of his own, partly of the gentleman's tenants, and, by violence, with all disgrace, brought the venerable old gentleman to the bar, before the judges, where, after many disgraceful terms, they offered him the oath, before all the gentlemen, his friends and kinsmen of the country.—And these three, to wit, the council, the high commission, and the sheriff, are always ready in any service against the catholics, their countrymen and neighbours.

Besides these three, which are ordinary and continual, there were, at one time, many other extraordinary pursuivants, ranging up and down the country, and every one making a prey of catholics and their goods. One was, and is yet, one Searle, who hath authority from the council at London to levy up all fines, set upon any recusant's head, by the same manner and taking of goods, as before I related. Another was that Mar, of whom I spoke before, who had a particular commission for all recusant gentlewomen, to apprehend and carry them to prison; and did execute it upon all, where he could not make otherwise a commodity for himself, as by the example of the gentlewoman before may appear. * * * The third was one who came with an outlawry against all the catholics of the country, whose name I have forgot. This villain had counterfeited a license and warrant from the council at London, under pretence of gathering I know not how many thousand pounds for my lord of Montgomery ; and, showing an outlawry against all recusants, proceeded so far before he was discovered, that he had agreed with many for sums of money, and got it; had laid others in prison, and seized upon all their goods (as, by name, one Mr. Percy), had molested the country, got a good sum of money, and at last ran away, but took all he had got with him, and the gentleman re